Oct 16 2006
Who's Who On The Amazing Race|
The Amazing Race 101
Next Stop. . .
. . .Chennai, India.
Guys, This Is A Race!
Brothers, Erwin/Godwin, regress to their early, less-than-savvy incarnations this leg of the race. First, they are back to pulling silly, practical jokes that don't help them in any way. Second, they seem to forget that they are in a race and are a little too eager to share information with other teams. We are all for nice guys, but did they really need to tell everyone, not just the teams they were working with, which flight they were on and how early it would be? Peter/Sarah and beauty queens, Dustin/Kandice manage to overtake them with this information, when at the connection, those teams ask for earlier flights. . .and get them.
Gambling On Flights
Rules in Vietnam prohibit the purchase of airline tickets at the counter so teams must find travel agencies in which to purchase their tickets. Erwin/Godwin, manage to find the earliest arriving flight to Chennai, but it requires a double connection (one in Hong Kong, and one in Delhi). When they share this with single moms, Lyn/Karlyn and married couple, David/Mary, those two teams decide to take a gamble and book the same flight, even though only Erwin/Godwin have guaranteed seats on the connecting flights. When the time comes, David/Mary miss a connecting flight when there is no more room on the plane, thus, stranding them for a while.
Ugly Americanism
Peter sums up his race experience so far, upon arriving in Chennai, as going from one 'polluted place to another.' But his display of ugly Americanism is trumped by Kimberly, who when she was on the bus, tells Rob to not 'let anyone touch me' and then disdainfully remarks that some people on the bus 'smells like fish.' She then caps it all off with a snobby, 'I want to go to Europe.' We're pretty sure the Europeans wouldn't like your attitude any better, Kimberly.
Crocodiles or Sand Art?
The Detour gives teams a choice between wrangling a live crocodile or using colored powder made from rice to fill in a stained glass type of design drawn on the grounds of a Hindu temple, very much like you'd use colored sand to create artistic patterns. The crocodile task is far away from the clue but can be done quickly, whereas the design task can be time consuming but is a mere 200 yards away from the clue.
More Cracks In The Relationship
Peter continues to annoy us, and he's starting to annoy Sarah too. She very nearly blows up at him when he declares that either she goes faster to meet his pace, or he'll just have to go slower to accommodate her. When she tells him that he needs to find something 'in between' those two extremes, he dismissively tells her that it's just the way he is and he 'like[s] the way I am.' Sarah can only exclaim in exasperation that she is not having fun with him as he carelessly munches away on his snack.
Driving School
The Roadblock requires a team member to take a driving course at a local driving school and then drive, with an instructor, in India's notoriously chaotic traffic. (And we thought traffic in Vietnam was bad!). Not surprisingly, most of the racers are a little freaked by the task, but all teams successfully complete it.
It Pains Us. . .
. . .to report that Peter/Sarah came first in this leg, in spite of his attitude and behavior. But that is the charm of this show. Bad behavior, good behavior, any type of behavior isn't necessarily rewarded or punished, and it sometimes just comes down to fate and luck. For coming in first on this leg of the race, Peter/Sarah each win a home gym system.
Cute Shirts
Brothers, Erwin/Godwin, may not have ran the best or smartest race this leg, but we do give them points for their witty, fun T-shirts that has a picture of host, Phil Keoghan, on it with the word 'LOST' above it and 'Reward: Bushel of Kiwis' (a nod to Phil's New Zealand's roots) below it.. Even Phil had to question them on the shirts at the pit stop, noting that the picture 'is a really ugly shot of [him].'
Speaking of Luck. . .
. . .Mary/David see both sides of luck this leg of the race. Bad luck hits them when they can't board one of their connecting flight en route to India, arriving in the country last. Then more bad luck (combined with questionable game play) comes their way when they waste a lot of time completing the design task of the Detour. They don't arrive at the pit stop until night has fallen (all the other teams checked in when it was still light out). However, good luck finally finds them as this was a non elimination leg.
New Rules
Unlike past non elimination legs, the last place team gets to keep all their money and possessions. However, they are now 'marked for elimination.' They must check in first at the next pit stop, or they will incur a thirty minute penalty, which could lead to their elimination if all the other teams check in before them during the penalty period.
