Category: amazing race asia 3

With the aid of a fast forward, Adrian & Collin retained their lead in The Amazing Race Asia 2 Episode 11. Paula & Natasha, however, pretty much had no shot at catching up to the rest of the pack following their non-elimination last time, and they were eliminated.

Teams depart in the order in which they arrived.

First: Adrian & Collin (8:10pm)
Second: Rovilson & Marc (10:37pm)
Third: Pamela & Vanessa (10:56pm)
Fourth: Ann & Diane (11:24pm)

Teams must fly to Cape Town, South Africa. Adrian & Collin immediately try to get some Internet access, and the strange thing is that Rovilson & Marc know this strategy yet don’t appear to use it.

First flight (10,700km via London, arriving at 7:50am): Ann & Diane
Second flight (to Frankfurt, where they hope to be able to find a flight): Adrian & Collin, Rovilson & Marc, Pamela & Vanessa

Adrian & Collin were trying too hard to get a better flight instead of taking the sure thing, but in the end, after getting on standby, they are able to get on the same flight as the other teams who are in Frankfurt, which arrives at 5:00am, three hours ahead of Ann & Diane. So it becomes a question of what the hours of operation of the first task are. While it worked out well for the teams who took the gamble, it was a huge risk to take.

When they arrive in Cape Town, teams must travel by taxi to Signal Hill. Rovilson & Marc use one of the best strategies I’ve seen to get a map book: they buy it from the cab driver. Adrian & Collin come up with the same plan. They arrive at 6:13 and have to kill time until the place opens at 8:30. Once it opens, they must drive to the summit of Signal Hill, where they’ll need to search through a bunch of clue boxes until they find the right one, which is made more difficult by being in the foggiest place on earth. For Adrian & Collin and Pamela & Vanessa, though, they must first figure out how to start their cars. Adrian & Collin particularly struggle and eventually have to get assistance from a local. Ann & Diane, likewise, have difficulty. Rovilson & Marc think this is all quite amusing.

From there, teams will head to Killarney Motor Racing Circuit. The team member who performs the road block must race 8 laps around the Killarney race track. The first 4 laps must be done in less than 7.5 minutes, or the team will get a 5 minute penalty.

Road block (in order of arrival): Vanessa, Marc, Collin, Ann

Vanessa and Collin receive a penalty, but Marc does not. There are a few minutes between the teams in the lead. As they’re leaving, Collin & Adrian again need to figure out how to start their car. They’re leaving just as Ann & Diane arrive. All the other teams were smart enough to have the people who normally do the driving drive, but Ann & Diane let Ann drive, who doesn’t drive a manual well. At 9 minutes 18 seconds, she actually does better than Vanessa did, and right around the same time as Collin. With that, it’s safe to assume Ann & Diane are about half an hour behind.

Teams must drive to the township and then go to the Intyatyambo Community Project and paint a marked section of the center, which cares for children age 1-6 living with AIDS, many of whom are orphans or HIV+ themselves. Contained in the clues is a check from Standard Chartered Bank for $5,000, which teams will deliver to the caregivers of the project.

Now that all the signs are in English… the teams are even more lost than they were in places where the signs weren’t in English. Rovilson & Marc miss having an excuse.

It’s a lengthy trek from there. They will take a two hour drive north to the Aquila Park Private Game Reserve. If you get lost going 15 minutes, it’s not such a big deal, but if you get lost going two hours, it could be huge. The next clue is located in the cheetah enclosure.

The detour is a choice between in one end or out the other (yeah, it’s as bad as it sounds, but it provides an opportunity for a lot of puns). In in one end, teams must prepare 100kg of food and feed it to the elephants, meaning they may need to wait because it could take a while to digest. In out the other, teams must clean elephant dung and deliver it to the marked area, which sounds messy but should be quicker.

Out the other: Rovilson & Marc, Collin & Adrian, Pamela & Vanessa, Ann & Diane

Rovilson & Marc know this show. They’ve got nose plugs with them.

Aquila Park Reserve, situated on 4,500 hectares (11,000 acres) of landscape, is the pitstop for this leg of the race.

First: Rovilson & Marc (win a trip back to South Africa)
Second: Adrian & Collin
Third: Pamela & Vanessa
Fourth: Ann & Diane (eliminated)

It’s back to normal, with Marc & Ro back on top. Wasn’t even dramatic, though, as Ann & Diane, despite having just half an hour gap, had no chance of catching up. The other three teams lucked out it wasn’t one of them after the airport situation. It’s too bad because they are a better team than Pamela & Vanessa. Not that it much matters, since it’s been a two team race all along.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another recap of The Amazing Race Asia 2 episode 13, where we will find out who the winner is.

Adrian & Collin outsmarted the other teams by finding a train nobody else did, allowing them to remain in the lead and finally take the first place position away from Rovilson & Marc in The Amazing Race Asia 2 Episode 10. Pamela & Vanessa somehow finished third, despite Vanessa’s nervous breakdown. Paula & Natasha, who ran a good leg for the most part, got lost on the way to the final clue (apparently), putting them in last place. However, they were saved by a non-elimination leg (the fourth one this season, which is a really good indicator of the show’s success).

Teams depart in the order in which they arrived.

First: Adrian & Collin (5:08am)
Second: Rovilson & Marc (5:35am)
Third: Pamela & Vanessa (6:51am)
Fourth: Ann & Diane (7:01am)
Fifth: Paula & Natasha (8:01am)

Teams will drive to the little princess statue in Budapest (they are not told it’s a statue). Despite a rough leg last time, Rovilson & Marc actually did a pretty good job closing the 90 minute gap from the train, and with Adrian & Collin starting off the day by getting lost, both teams arrive at the first clue at the same time. Both teams decide they want to head to Elizabeth Bridge for the fast forward, which will be bad news for the one that doesn’t get it first. Rovilson’s well aware of this and says he has to assume Adrian & Collin are trying to do it as well. This far ahead of the other teams, doing the fast forward is not a smart idea, but for these teams, they’re not interested in just staying in the race… they want to finish in first place.

The fast forward is to count the vertical bars in the handrails within a flagged area. Adrian & Collin arrive slightly ahead. Both teams are writing on the bridge to mark their way, and Rovilson & Marc have another strategy of using a belt to count multiple bars at a time. Adrian & Collin are first to finish, but their initial guess is incorrect. Likewise, Rovilson & Marc’s first guess is wrong. The belt and markings allow them to move faster this time, but their second guess is wrong as well (off by one). Adrian & Collin get it on their second attempt, and Rovilson & Marc have wasted about an hour.

The road block is to search the Buda Castle labyrinth for a treasure chest containing a clue.

Road block (in order of arrival): Rovilson, Pamela, Diane, Paula

Paula & Natasha are having some success flirting with men to help them out, but they’ve got a sizeable hour and a half they need to make up.

The next stop is Margaret Island (otherwise known as Rabbit Island), where they will use pedicabs to go to the place where St. Margaret of Hungary used to live. Once they finish this task, they’re told to go to Hero Square, and they find out there’s a yield ahead. Rovilson & Marc already have a plan with their alliance partners to yield the moms, which is probably smart since they’re a stronger team than the other two. As expected, Rovilson & Marc yield Ann & Diane. It should drop Paula & Natasha’s time they need to make up to about an hour, but it’s no small task on a leg where they’re just driving around one city.

The detour is a choice between say it or play it. In say it, teams must correctly pronounce the names of all 14 kings at Hero Square (they can ask the lcoals for help). In play it, teams must solve a Rubik’s Cube (one color at a time, alternating colors), which was invented by a Hungarian named Erno Rubik.

Play it: Rovilson & Marc, Ann & Diane (switched from say it)
Say it: Pamela & Vanessa, Paula & Natasha

Rovilson & Marc have a message for their moms: the Rubik’s Cube did help them in life after all.

The Freedom Monument at the citadel on Gellert Hill is the pitstop for this leg of the race.

First: Adrian & Collin
Second: Rovilson & Marc
Third: Pamela & Vanessa
Fourth: Ann & Diane
Fifth: Paula & Natasha (eliminated)

Pretty obvious outcome here. Considering the leg’s design, there was just no way Paula & Natasha were going to catch up. They’re happy to have been able to share this amazing adventure with their best friend.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another recap of The Amazing Race Asia 2 episode 12.

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.

Terri & Henry were last in The Amazing Race 2 Episode 8, but they survived due to a lame second non-elimination in a row. It’s like David & Mary from The Amazing Race 10. Just put them out of their misery already.

Teams depart in the order in which they arrived.

First: Rovilson & Marc (2:17am)
Second: Adrian & Collin (2:24am)
Third: Ann & Diane (2:40am)
Fourth: Paula & Natasha (3:10am)
Fifth: Vanessa & Pamela (4:17am)
Sixth: Terri & Henry (10:35am)

Teams must travel by train to Prague and find Petrin Hill, where they must climb the 60 meter observation tower and correctly count the 299 steps to the top. The next train is at 4:20am, enough to create some bunching.

Train 1: Rovilson & Marc, Adrian & Collin, Ann & Diane, Paula & Natasha
Train 2: Vanessa & Pamela
Train 3: Terri & Henry

The teams have a new plan to foil Ann & Diane. Refuse to work with them at the intersection.

The next hours of operation are at 9am. More bunching, this time enough for Pamela & Vanessa to catch up. Rather than waiting around aimlessly, Adrian & Collin and Ann & Diane go on Google and figure out how many steps are on the tower. Well played. While this gives Adrian & Collin the lead, though, Rovilson & Marc don’t need the answer beforehand and still place second on this task. Vanessa & Pamela also get it right, followed closely by Ann & Diane. Paula & Natasha, however, guess 311. They get confused the next time on the 52nd step and end up guessing 300. They finally get the right answer after that.

Strelecky Island on the Vltava River is the next destination. It turns out that Adrian & Collin’s foreknowledge of the number of steps did pay off after all. They catch the train before everybody else and are on the island apparently before anybody else leaves for it, though it doesn’t seem like a particularly long distance away.

Once on the island, teams will use a marked row boat to row 140 degrees southeast using the compass provided. A fairly simple task, but it has the potential to confuse some. The rowing could be bad enough, but when the compass is added to it, chaos could ensue. This is another one of those tasks that Rovilson & Marc have absolutely no problem with, while everybody else struggles.

The next clue is located at Prague Castle, the biggest ancient castle in the world. At the castle is the intersection, where each team must team up with another team. Adrian & Collin are first to arrive, and they plan to team up with whoever comes second. Pretty obvious who that will be, and these four together is even more unfair than the rest of the race has been. Shockingly enough, Rovilson & Marc are the next team to arrive.

They will head to the Ice Hockey Arena Letnany in Letnany. Each team member must score one goal from three different points on the rink (no goalie).

As the boys are leaving, Ann & Diane show up. Too bad for them, since Adrian & Collin are the only team particularly willing to actually work with them.

On the cab ride there, Rovilson & Marc tell us about the plan. If Paula & Natasha and Pamela & Vanessa team up, Ann & Diane will have to wait for Terri & Henry, putting them so desperately far behind they have no prayer of catching up any time soon. I didn’t get it before (and it appears to me they’re just realizing it, too), but this is absolutely brilliant strategy considering that point.

Too bad they didn’t think of this earlier. Vanessa & Pamela readily agree to work with Ann & Diane. Generally a very good idea, but given the circumstances, there was much strategy to be had with this. They totally forgot about Terri & Henry (who we haven’t seen this entire episode), and like Marc & Rovilson, they didn’t think about it until the cab ride. While they had discussed the yield with the boys, and the boys have discussed the intersection with Paula & Natasha, nobody filled Vanessa & Pamela in on the plans for what to do in the event of an intersection.

Paula & Natasha know they’re screwed. It’s at this point that we finally figure out just how far behind Terri & Henry are. They’re departing over 8 hours behind the first and second place teams. Even with the hours of operation bunching, we’re still looking at a wait time of at least a few hours. This is the same absolutely hideous planning that we saw in the US version (intersection on the leg after a non-elimination leg is almost certain defeat), with the added complication of the last place team being ridiculously far behind. Paula & Natasha are killing time to the extent that it’s just silly.

The detour is a choice between snap or roll. In snap, teams must find and take photos of three historical monuments and bring them to the statue of Josef Manes for verification. In roll, teams must collect two 50 liter beer kegs from a restaurant and deliver them to Admiral Botel.

Roll: Adrian & Collin and Rovilson & Marc, Ann & Diane and Vanessa & Pamela (after trying snap and being unable to either find anything or work together)
Snap: Paula & Natasha and Terri & Henry

After the detour is over, they are released from the intersection. Rovilson & Marc and Collin & Adrian worked together quite well as expected. All four other teams did okay until they got to the detour, where they failed miserably to be cohesive foursomes. They’ll head to the swimming pool in Prague 4.

The road block is a ten meter dive. That’s it? Yep, just as poorly planned as the US one. This will take no time at all. If there were any question before, it’s clear based on this that Terri & Henry are toast considering their 30 minute penalty. Granted, as little time as this did take, Vanessa says she’s delusional and can’t remember what she’s doing afterward. She doesn’t know what she just did or that they’re going to the pitstop. She was bleeding, so it would seem that the impact has caused some momentary short-term memory loss.

Road block (in order of arrival): Rovilson, Collin, Vanessa, Ann, Henry, Natasha

On the way to the pitstop and in a mad dash for last (only not really since the penalty negates any prayer Terri & Henry may have had), Terri & Henry are unable to get a cab, so they walk away. This very same cab picks up Paula & Natasha. Henry comments, “They just were nice to the guy.” It’s here we find out how long Paula & Natasha are behind the other teams: 5 hours. Terri & Henry’s poor performance has the potential to continue impacting the race, as we’re probably heading to an airport leg. 5 hours could mean nothing in that case, but it could mean an even larger gap. The plane here in the first place is what put Terri & Henry so far behind.

The pitstop for this leg of the race is Vrtbovska Garden in Mala Strana.

First: Rovilson & Marc (win Sony HD Handycam SR7)
Second: Adrian & Collin
Third: Ann & Diane
Fourth: Vanessa & Pamela
Fifth: Paula & Natasha
Sixth: Terri & Henry (eliminated)

It’s about time. I don’t know if it would have been possible for Terri & Henry to actually get any further behind than they were this leg. At least they’re going out in good spirits, though.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another recap of The Amazing Race Asia 2 episode 10, and don’t forget our live blogs of The Amazing Race 12.

Terri & Henry finally finished last in The Amazing Race Asia 2 Episode 7, but they were just as disappointed as anybody else that they’re still in the race, as their heart’s not in it any more. Not that I’m convinced it was in it before. Rovilson & Marc and Adrian & Collin, meanwhile, continued their dominance, taking first and second as usual.

Teams depart in the order in which they arrived, with the exception of Ann & Diane and Paula & Natasha, who for some reason have switched places with Ann & Diane departing fifth, though it could just be another production error. Terri & Henry are just over 4 hours behind.

First: Rovilson & Marc (7:48am)
Second: Adrian & Collin (8:07am)
Third: Pamela & Vanessa (9:47am)
Fourth: Paula & Natasha (10:04am)
Fifth: Ann & Diane (10:26am)
Sixth: Terri & Henry (12:07pm)

The next stop is the Old Opera House in Frankfurt, Germany, 8088km away. Rovilson never knew Germany was a part of Asia but doesn’t care as long as he gets the airline with the hottest flight attendants. When the boys arrive at the airport, the first and second flights are both fully booked, but both teams are able to get on standby.

The teams all leave Terri & Henry some money to get to the airport. This is one of the reasons the mugging twist is so stupid. By the time they arrive, though, there’s not much time left to get good tickets, as even the teams that have been there for hours have been scrambling.

First flight (direct by 5pm): Rovilson & Marc
Second flight (arriving at 5:35pm): Natasha & Paula
Third flight (arriving at 6:35pm): Pamela & Vanessa, Adrian & Collin, Ann & Diane
Fourth flight (via Hong Kong, no arrival time given): Terri & Henry

They’ve taken the flight to Frankfurt merely to catch a train to the Charles Bridge in Prague, Czech Republic. The next train is a night train at 11:38pm.

Rovilson & Marc aren’t happy that they’re going to lose their big lead, but they take advantage of it. First, they see the sights. Then, Rovilson earns back some of the cash they spent by pole dancing.

Ann & Diane are trying to convince everybody they meet they’re having an emergency. Most people fall for it, too.

Paula & Natasha, Rovilson & Marc, and Pamela & Vanessa are working on an alliance. The first target appears to be Ann & Diane… so pretty much nothing’s changed from before.

Train 1: Rovilson & Marc, Adrian & Collin, Pamela & Vanessa, Paula & Natasha, Ann & Diane
Train 2: Terri & Henry

I thought they were trying to fool us with the editing, but Terri & Henry are so far behind, they can’t pull it off. When they’re catching the train in the daylight, it’s clear there’s nothing ahead that can save them.

Teams must proceed to the Little Shop at Karlova Street, a puppet shop. The hours of operation are 11:00, which means that once again Rovilson & Marc will lose their lead while the other teams catch up to them. Eventually, Paula & Natasha catch up to them first, and they pinky swear not to yield each other. Oh boy. I saw the pinky swear in Big Brother 5. Nakomis whined about it being broken for weeks on end. By the time the shop opens, four teams are waiting, with Pamela & Vanessa (having searched for the clue for hours) and Terri & Henry being behind the pack. The bridge task is clearly tough, as most of the teams walk up and down the bridge for hours. You know what that means. When they get there, Terri loses it, starts screaming, sits on the ground and pouts, and does whatever else is necessary to draw attention to herself, all the while wasting her team’s time.

From there, teams will head to the Kinsky Palace in Old Town Square. Okay already. Can we get an actual task instead of teams going from place to place killing times and getting clues?

The road block is to dress up like a knight and rescue a damsel in distress.

Road block (in order of arrival): Marc, Adrian, Paula, Ann, Vanessa, Henry

Some of the women aren’t too comfortable in the knight gear, but Marc’s having no trouble jogging in it. He finds the damsel first but leads Adrian right to her in the process.

Paula & Natasha and Pamela and Vanessa are having trouble driving. Don’t they know by now that you don’t go on TAR without knowing how to drive a stick?

From there, teams head by train to Beroun, where they will get a clue at the town square by searching for someone who has it on their Nokia phone, which as a bonus has a message from home. Most people are thrilled by the messages, but Ann’s completely focused on the race and mostly concerned that she knows her husband is quite long winded.

Train 1: Rovilson & Marc, Adrian & Collin, Ann & Diane
Train 2: Paula & Natasha
Train 3: Pamela & Vanessa
Train 4: Terri & Henry

The detour is a choice between blow or bow. In blow, each team member must cut a design on the bottom of a class cut. In bow, each team member must hit a target with a crossbow.

Bow: Rovilson & Marc, Adrian & Collin, Ann & Diane, Pamela & Vanessa, Terri & Henry
Blow: Paula & Natasha

The pitstop for this leg of the race is Karlstejn Castle, 30km south of Prague.

First: Rovilson & Marc (win $5,000)
Second: Adrian & Collin
Third: Ann & Diane
Fourth: Paula & Natasha
Fifth: Vanessa & Pamela
Sixth: Terri & Henry (non-eliminated)

Oh. My. God. It’s like cockroaches that just won’t die. Two NEL’s in a row on legs they’re just getting blown away in. This is getting more and more pitiful. At least they’re in better spirits than they were the last time, though. If When they don’t come in first next time, they’ll get a 30 minute time penalty.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another recap of The Amazing Race Asia 2 episode 9, and don’t forget our live blogs of The Amazing Race 12.

Following a strong leg in their home country of Japan, Daichi & Sawaka stumbled and were eliminated in The Amazing Race Asia 2 Episode 6.

Teams depart in the order in which they arrived.

First: Rovilson & Marc (10:30am)
Second: Adrian & Collin (10:32am)
Third: Terri & Henry (10:43am)
Fourth: Vanessa & Pamela (10:46am)
Fifth: Paula & Natasha (10:47am)
Sixth: Ann & Diane (11:00am)

With the teams all being within half an hour of each other, it’s pretty tight already. Teams must drive to a soybean farm in Anseong, 80km south of Seoul. Rovilson & Marc get a police escort to the destination. The teams are having trouble adjusting to having to drive on the other side of the road. Marc comments, “I’m just used to driving in the Philippines, where you can drive on any side of the road.” The signs being entirely in Korean doesn’t help matters any. On the way there, Paula & Natasha get a flat tire. Ann & Diane, who had started off quite a ways behind the rest, spot Terri & Henry while heading there. Like Paula & Natasha, they hit (apparently) a curb, but they don’t get a flat from it. Not that it’s a news flash or anything, but Terri screamed at the top of her lungs as Henry drove.

The road block is to search through 1500 soybean jars. Some of the jars hide clues. One jar hides a $50 bonus in addition to the clue. Not a good task for the taller racers, as it means they’ll have to bend over more, leading to aching backs. Even though she doesn’t fall into this category, as usual, Terri needs to take time to pout.

Road block (in order of arrival): Rovilson, Pamela, Collin (gets the clue with the bonus), Natasha, Diane, Terri

The next stop is Woncheon Resort, an amusement park in Suwon, where they must find a flagged boat and paddle to a buoy to find their next clue. From there, they will head to the Korean folk village in Yongin, a living open air folk museum.

This seems to be a very good leg in terms of cooperative locals. From start to finish, multiple teams have been finding people willing to drive to the destinations and let them follow them.

Pamela does a remarkable impression of Terri on the way to the village. Vanessa makes a wrong turn, and they’re unable to get themselves to calm down and just keep yelling. Vanessa asks her to calm down and apologizes again and again, but Pamela just keeps harping on it. The (other) problem is that Vanessa keeps enabling this behavior, continuing to say she’s stupid and that it’s her fault.

The detour is a choice between too ho or too heavy. In too ho, teams must toss bamboo sticks into a cylinder from 4.5 meters away. In too heavy, teams must deliver 30 logs to a house using a traditional carrying device known as a jigei.

Too heavy: Adrian & Collin, Paula & Natasha, Ann & Diane (after trying too ho)
Too ho: Rovilson & Marc, Vanessa & Pamela, Terri & Henry

Surprising to see Rovilson & Marc opt for the task that’s not just sheer strength. Seems like a botched opportunity to gain some time, but regardless, they still manage to pass Adrian & Collin and take the lead. For some reason, Paula & Natasha choose to do the log carrying task, but that works out okay except for the few logs Natasha takes to the head. Despite this, though, she remains level-headed and doesn’t freak out.

At 8PM, as the other teams are either checked in or finishing up the detour, Terri & Henry are still looking for the boats. The good news is that, even though it’s dark, they still don’t run into an hours of operation problem.

The pitstop for this leg of the race is Peace Plaza Olympic Park in Seoul.

First: Rovilson & Marc
Second: Adrian & Collin
Third: Pamela & Vanessa
Fourth: Ann & Diane
Fifth: Paula & Natasha
Sixth: Terri & Henry (non-eliminated)

Toward the end of the episode, we get what’s apparently a goodbye video, but even with this build up, it’s still a non-elimination leg. There’s a montage of Terri yelling at Henry, then in the confessional, Henry starts crying, which is followed by her crying as well. When they’re given the news that this is a NEL, they’re probably the least excited team ever to not be eliminated. To make matters worse, mugging’s back. They got rid of it in the US version because it was a disgusting twist, but Terri & Henry will start the next leg with no money.

As usual, Rovilson & Marc get first, while Adrian & Collin get second. These two teams have to be in the finals.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another recap of The Amazing Race Asia 2 episode 8, and don’t forget our live blogs of The Amazing Race 12.

The Amazing Race Asia 2 Episode 5 was a to be continued leg. With all teams onboard the same train heading to what we were deliberately misled to believe was a pitstop, everybody’s pretty bunched up, but there likely exists a few minutes between the teams. Now that we’re heading out of Japan, it’ll be interesting to see how it impacts Daichi & Sawaka, while Terry & Henri’s dysfunctionality should continue to hamper them regardless of country.

First: Ann & Diane
Second: Rovilson & Marc
Third: Adrian & Collin
Fourth: Paula & Natasha
Fifth: Daichi & Sawaka
Sixth: Terri & Henry
Seventh: Vanessa & Pamela

Teams must head to Hakata Port international ferry terminal, where they will catch a ferry to Busan, South Korea, a journey of 320km. So all teams are once again even.

Rovilson & Marc have decided to disguise themselves so the other teams can’t tell where they are. Oddly, the massive fake moustaches in random moving places isn’t working, though.

When they arrive in South Korea, they will travel by taxi to Jongro Taekwando Academy, where they will kick their way through three boards each in Korea’s national sport. Marc & Rovilson get the first cab and stop to get directions. It’s a one way street with no passing, which means that all the other teams must wait while they find out where to go. Natasha yells out the window that their cab driver knows where he’s going, so they should just follow them. Even though Natasha’s not actually sure her driver knows where to go, the boys fall for this and follow them anyway. It’s not long before they’ve lost all the other taxis, though, but that’s not a bad thing because all the other taxis are in chaos as well. Like in some parts of the US, the traffic lights are considered optional by some. At one point, Rovilson comments on his taxi driver, “He may not know where he’s going, but he’ll run at least 15 red lights to get there.”

Despite the trouble, Rovilson & Marc are the first to arrive at the taekwando school, for a task they’ll likely finish faster than most other teams. As much as there’s a theory that it’s not all about strength, a bit of strength doesn’t hurt any. Adrian & Collin are a couple minutes behind. Ann & Diane are just dropped off at some random location. Vanessa & Pamela arrive third. Spelling out the name of the street (Unro) makes Paula & Natasha’s cab driver think they’re going to the United Nations (UN). They eventually find it fourth by dumb luck (they spot it… the cab driver has no clue he’s passed it), and they bump into Daichi & Sawaka near the destination, who then arrive shortly after. For some reason, Daichi wants to use this same clueless cab driver again, but then again, all the cab drivers seem pretty clueless where this place is, so it might not be such a bad idea. Terri & Henry are the sixth team to arrive, which means Ann & Diane are in last and apparently nowhere near finding the school.

From there, teams must travel by taxi to the Jagalchi Market and search for a golden pig statue, symbolizing the Chinese year of the golden pig, which comes once every 600 years. As they’re leaving, Marc & Rovilson believe that their cab’s been stolen by Adrian & Collin. Marc & Rovilson are willing to play this as a race but think karma will come back to play a role. Their plan is to use the yield on Adrian & Collin if they arrive first. They believe that if someone arrives before them, they’re definitely going to be yielded, but Collin discusses how they don’t want to antagonize anybody, which is probably wise because yielding a team at the head of the pack probably won’t matter anyway.

Adrian & Collin choose not to yield. Now that their choice for a yield is not an option, Rovilson & Marc also choose not to yield anybody. Not knowing how far behind Ann & Diane are, multiple teams suspect them as being the ones who will yield people. Vanessa & Pamela don’t yield either. Daichi & Sawaka don’t realize Ann & Diane, who they would have yielded otherwise, are behind them. Terri & Henry throw away the yield on Rovilson & Marc, who are way ahead of them as usual. What sense does this make? When they arrive, Paula & Natasha can’t figure out what the heck happened here any more than I can. However, this does give Ann & Diane some false sense of security, as they believe that by some miracle Terri & Henry were actually ahead of Rovilson & Marc.

The detour is a choice between slither or deliver. In slither, teams must get two tokens from a tank of octopus. In deliver, teams must deliver food in the traditional manner (on their heads) to three addresses, potentially problematic since not all streets have names. Of the two choices, the slither task appears to be ridiculously simple by comparison. If they’re going to setup a detour, at least make it so the choices are remotely even.

Perhaps knowing just how much easier slither is, all teams choose to do that detour, with the exception of Daichi & Sawaka. After a while of doing deliver, dropping from fourth to sixth in the process, they switch to the slither detour as well.

The next stop is Nurimaru APEC House in Hyundai Beach. It’s late at night, but it appears the location is being kept open specifically for the teams, as there is no hours of operations problem.

The road block is lock and key in Yongdusan Park, where a gatekeeper will give them a key that will only unlock one padlock. If they break the key, they’ll have to start all over again. We saw this dumb luck road block in The Amazing Race 6, which took teams hours and caused Hayden & Aaron to be eliminated, but this looks like a much simpler version of that (nowhere near as many locks, and they’re not decades old). At this point, all teams are roughly even anyway, as everybody’s pretty close to first place Rovilson & Marc, and even Ann & Diane are still in it, as they arrive ahead of Daichi & Sawaka, who receive directions from Natasha in an attempt to get rid of Ann & Diane. Ann & Diane attempt to pull an Amber by pretending they got the clue in the wrong direction, but Daichi doesn’t bite, though Sawaka suggests they at least consider going that way since they can’t find it otherwise.

Road block: Marc, Collin, Pamela, Paula, Terri (uh, the clue said patience), Ann, Daichi

Marc gets it on the first lock. It won’t be that easy for everybody else, but perhaps this is just another example of this episode’s poor task planning.

The pitstop for this leg of the race is Beomeosa Temple, the most well known and largest buddhist temple in Busan.

First: Rovilson & Marc (they don’t appear to win anything, but they celebrate – quietly – nonetheless)
Second: Adrian & Collin
Third: Terri & Henry
Fourth: Vanessa & Pamela
Fifth: Paula & Natasha
Sixth: Ann & Diane
Seventh: Daichi & Sawaka (eliminated)

Rovilson & Marc continue to dominate regardless of the circumstances. Adrian & Collin, who have been finishing second behind them for a few legs, continue to perform strongly as well. Terri & Henry had a surprisingly good leg, apparently because they weren’t arguing for a change. Ann & Diane, who typically place third, had quite a rough leg after getting lost. Daichi & Sawaka shined briefly with the home country advantage, but that was short lived once they took the ferry to Korea. Still, they remain as upbeat as can be expected in the face of elimination.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another recap of The Amazing Race Asia 2 episode 7, and don’t forget our live blogs of The Amazing Race 12.

Sophie & Aurelia were unable to make up their 8 hour gap in The Amazing Race Asia 2 Episode 4 and were eliminated. Marc & Rovilson continued their dominance, while Terri & Henry fell even more apart than before.

Teams depart in the order in which they arrived.

First: Marc & Rovilson (12:46am)
Second: Adrian & Collin (2:49am)
Third: Paula & Natasha (3:44am)
Fourth: Ann & Diane (3:47am)
Fifth: Daichi & Sawaka (4:04am)
Sixth: Pamela & Vanessa (4:26am)
Seventh: Henry & Terri (5:06am)

The show switched Pamela & Vanessa/Terri & Henry, saying Pamela & Vanessa departed last, but it appears to have just been an error.

The next stop is Tokyo Japan, 8839km away, where they will first head to Shiba Park. Japan is the home country of Daichi & Sawaka, who have thus far been largely toward the back/middle of the pack. There is concern from the teams that the language barrier may be problematic.

Marc & Rovilson believe this game is about momentum, which is clearly something they have. Their lead is even more pronounced now than it was in the last leg, though the airport should take care of that.

Everybody is discussing how they dislike Ann & Diane, or at least Diane.

All teams get on the same flight to Japan.

Upon arriving in Japan, Daichi & Sawaka hide from the other teams so that nobody follows them. It’s unclear what this achieves, as everybody gets on the same train anyway. With the exception of Terri & Henry, who have difficulty because of the language. However, it does allow Daichi & Sawaka to at least not be on the same car as everybody else.

Marc & Rovilson take the Yaminote Line and break off from the pack. Daichi & Sawaka go to Hamamatsucho and will get a cab to Tokyo there. By thinking differently, they are the first two teams to arrive at the park. The boys forget to get a map, though, but Daichi & Sawaka know exactly where they’re going. So they let them pass and just follow them there.

Teams must travel by rickshaw to the Sony Building in Ginza. There, teams must convince a member of the public to sing the traditional Japanese song Sakura with one of them while being recorded on a Sony HD Handy Cam (yeah, Sony’s a sponsor, too). They must also sing it correctly. Since Sawaka knows the lyrics, as does Ann, this is easy enough for them to make sure it’s right. Not so much for the other teams, like Marc & Rovilson, who can’t find any Japanese people (in Tokyo).

The next stop is the youth fashion center of Japan, Shibuya Mark City, where they will look for a Cosplay (a combination of the words costume and play, centered on dressing as fantasy characters from anime and video games) girl matching the photo in their Sony Cybershot camera (there’s a fine line between product placement and hitting someone over the head, and they’re flirting with that line).

The detour is the choice between catch it or cart it. In catch it, teams must make their way to a restaurant and catch 40 goldfish using traditional paddles made of rice paper, which disintegrates in water. In cart it, teams must pick out a traditional yukata (casual kimono) from a dry cleaner and deliver it by foot to a local address, navigating the confusing streets.

Catch it (in order of obtaining the clue): Paula & Natasha (switched from cart it), Vanessa & Pamela, Terri & Henry
Cart it: Daichi & Sawaka (switched from catch it), Marc & Rovilson (based on a coin flip), Ann & Diane (unable to find catch it), Adrian & Collin

With the exception of Daichi & Sawaka, everybody’s having trouble finding anything. Terri’s ready to quit (again). Once they arrive, though, she finds the fish task to be calming. That’s new.

The road block is at Icebar Tokyo, and they must decipher an ice puzzle to figure out where they’re going next. The puzzle can potentially spell out more than one Japanese city, so it’s not entirely straightforward. Should be fairly easy for anyone who knows Japanese cities, though. It spells out Fukuoka, where they will travel via Shinagawa train station.

Road block: Sawaka, Rovilson, Ann, Adrian, Paula, Vanessa, Henry

Despite Terri & Henry wandering around for quite some time, they’re still able to catch up to Pamela & Vanessa, as Vanessa’s having difficulty coming up with the city. Due to the fairly poor design of the challenge, Vanessa finishes first of the two, but Henry just looks at her answer when she leaves and gets it right after her.

The pyramid at Fukuoka International Congress Center is the next stop. The earliest train is at 6am, which should allow for some bunching. All teams board the same train, for a trip all the way across Japan of 1100km. Because of this, the rest of the leg becomes largely moot, and the deciding factor in finishing order is all about one taxi ride.

Not that that matters because as time ticks away and nobody’s even gotten to the mat yet, it becomes more and more obvious that this is a to be continued leg. Diane & Ann are the first to get to the Congress Center and receive the news that they must continue racing.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another recap of The Amazing Race Asia 2 episode 6, and don’t forget our live blogs of The Amazing Race 12.