After coming in last three times in a row, Terri & Henry were finally eliminated in The Amazing Race Asia 2 Episode 9, while Rovilson & Marc and Adrian & Collin continued their dominance, placing first and second as per usual. Meanwhile, Paula & Natasha got screwed over by a poorly planned intersection, causing them to have to wait for 5 hours and fall way behind the rest of the pack.
First: Rovilson & Marc (11:44pm)
Second: Adrian & Collin (11:58pm)
Third: Ann & Diane (12:33am)
Fourth: Vanessa & Pamela (12:37am)
Fifth: Paula & Natasha (5:05am)
Teams will head by train to Budapest, Hungary, 443km away
First train (via Vienna, 5:00am, arrives 90 minutes earlier): Adrian & Collin
Second train (direct, 7:30am): Rovilson & Marc, Vanessa & Pamela, Ann & Diane, Paula & Natasha
If it were an airport, they’d have probably been in deep trouble, but since it’s a train station, Paula & Natasha have plenty of time to catch up to the others. Adrian & Collin, with their smart play, are far enough ahead that they should be able to come out on top for a change.
The first destination is Batthyany Square on the Danube River. The clue there tells them to drive to Magyar Farm, 20km outside Budapest. Manual cars. Before the race, learn them, love them, or at the very least be semi-competent driving them. We’ve seen it before, and we’ll see it again. Not good news for some of these teams.
The detour is a choice between pitch or pull. In pitch, teams must stack hay onto a cart and deliver it to a farmer. In pull, teams must milk a goat and collect 200ml of milk. Given the choice of a highly physical task or a task involving animals (notoriously difficult to work with), the physical task typically is the better option.
Pitch: Adrian & Collin, Paula & Natasha, Ann & Diane (after switching from pull), Rovilson & Marc
Pull: Vanessa & Pamela (after seeing the others doing pitch)
Despite their early problems with the manual car, Paula & Natasha manage to arrive in second place. Rovilson & Marc, who are the only team of the four comfortable with the driving, get held up while trying to find the place.
The clue given at the detour is for the road block. They will travel to the nearby town of Visegrad to Canopy Fun Extreme and complete multiple sections of the flying fox course. There’s also some basic addition involved, which may be tougher for some than others, but it could actually be the most difficult part of the whole thing.
Road block (in order of arrival): Adrian, Natasha, Diane, Marc, Pamela
Adrian gets it wrong on his first attempt but is correct the next time and still well ahead. Natasha also gets it wrong her first time. This gives Diane the advantage, or so she thinks. Ann took off to familiarize herself with driving the car. A worthwhile thing to do as we’ve seen from Pamela & Vanessa’s trouble this leg, but just bad timing to do it. Because of this, Marc is allowed to go ahead and do the road block, which is one at a time, first come, first served. Marc is the only one to get it right the first time. Diane is incorrect on her first try. Natasha’s second attempt is correct. Pamela is incorrect on her first try. Diane is correct on her second attempt, as is Pamela.
Teams will proceed to the Hercules Fountain featured on the 1000 forint Hungarian note. From there, they will head to the pitstop for this leg of the race, Salamon Tower Lower Castle, where they must take the correct entrance, which proves a bit of a challenge. While this gives us some drama, it’s still pretty obvious who will win this leg. Rovilson & Marc go the right way and rush into the tower incognito (hidden behind branches). These two are always good for a laugh. Like Adrian & Collin, Pamela & Vanessa also go the wrong way.
First: Adrian & Collin (win Nokia N95 and Nokia N73)
Second: Rovilson & Marc
Third: Pamela & Vanessa
Fourth: Ann & Diane
Fifth: Paula & Natasha (non-eliminated)
This leg was Pamela & Vanessa’s to lose, and beyond the car troubles, Vanessa’s nervous breakdowns are getting old. They didn’t spend a great deal of time on what happened to the other two teams, but it’s obvious they had difficulty finding the Hercules Fountain. Unlike the previous two non-elimination legs, I’m pleased with this one. Paula & Natasha ran a good leg and had just one mishap. They must come in first next time, or they will receive a 30 minute penalty. They’re hoping their allies will come through and yield another team (the moms) if a yield does come up. If nothing else, this leg shows us that nothing’s ever for certain and that one little thing can have a huge impact.
Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another recap of The Amazing Race Asia 2 episode 11.
Ah,thanks man. Why is it that they have a hate on for the dancing mums?.
I haven’t figured it out myself. Normally when all the teams don’t like one team, it’s pretty obvious, but in this case, not so much. I think it’s because they find them sneaky.