The Amazing Race Recap: This is Gonna Be a Fine Mess (Phuket, Thailand)
We returned to the volcanic landscape of Indonesia for the beginning of the fourth leg. The clue told the contestants to head to Phuket, Thailand and go to a floating pier to get their next clue. We find out immediately at the airport that there were no direct flights out to Thailand, or at least no available ones. So the Snowboarders and Laurence & Zac headed for Jakarta at 9:40AM. We also get several mispronunciations of Phuket including "Puck It," "Bucket," "Puckat," or possibly Pucca.
Andy & Tommy - 8:17AM
Laurence & Zac - 8:28
Jeremy & Sandy - 9:40
Justin & Jennifer - 9:41
Ernie & Cindy - 9:42
Amani & Marcus - 9:46
Bill & Cathi - 9:56
Liz & Marie - 10:05
The twins had a positive attitude during the leg at first and were probably relieved that the six back teams were bunched at the airport. The teams started to grab tickets to Jakarta, but in a smarter move got connecting tickets to Phuket to ensure their travel at 6:50PM. The editors provide us red text, which made the audience assume that they were on the bad flight. The best case scenarios for all six teams were that they find an earlier flight than the two while in Jakarta or that the front two teams made a mistake. They got the latter as the Snowboarders and Adventurers found out that all the tickets were full. I think this show has proven that you never go to one half-way point without at least having guaranteed tickets to the next step. You could always look for better. The two teams got the blue text telling the audience that they would arrive at 7:40PM.
At Thailand, the back teams arrived at 6:50PM to taxi drivers, Jeremy & Sandy got their head lamps on as if they were ready to search at night on a beach. If the clue was any clearer than Phil's instructions, they should have assumed that there was an hours of operation. Liz & Marie didn't exchange their money and were crossing their fingers. I loved the Thai drivers as they smiled for the camera, excited to be on television, especially for Ma & Pa.
Less than 50 minutes later, the "front" two teams headed to the taxis and the woman working at the taxis was gleaming from having dispatched four taxis from Americans an hour ago. The problem is now that the two teams only suspected four teams were in front of them, when everyone was actually in front of them. At the beach area they arrived to hours of operation of 8:00AM. Liz & Marie managed to not pay for their taxi, though the guy didn't seem that happy. All the teams eventually met Laurence & Zac and Andy & Tommy. Mistake neutralized. Somewhere during this part, Liz & Marie should have looked for some currency exchange, but they didn't.
At 8AM teams were running as they tried to make it up the bridge, slipping and falling ensued as the healthier teams made it in front. The clue was the detour which choices were Reconstruction (Install new coral nurseries) or Beach Preparation ("Install" 20 chairs and 10 umbrellas). To help with the Beach prep, teams all got a symbol to differentiate their chairs and umbrellas from other teams.
Andy & Tommy headed for coral; apparently because doing extreme sports means that during the summers, one surfs. Ernie & Cindy and Liz & Marie automatically picked the chairs. Even I had a sneaking suspicion that both of these challenges were harder than they came off, but even without too much thinking, I would ask myself "how does one install an umbrella to a judge's approval?" and realize that the umbrellas probably needed to be planted like a tree. There was some dramatic speedboat racing in high definition as the unbalanced cameramen tried to capture everything. Andy & Tommy were first to construct the coral frame of PVC pipes. Liz & Marie had "yellow fish" but struggled with finding their chairs and umbrellas. When on the beach Laurence & Zac made the mistake to head to the umbrellas. These minor mistakes (like not looking at the orphanage sign and not reading the last detour clue) seem like they will eventually cause the downfall of the father/son team.
Amani & Marcus apparently watched a piece on coral reefs with their children, but that didn't mean that any random knowledge was going to help them. Justin & Jennifer immediately melted down installing the pipes. Turns out that it only turns on during high amounts of stress. Ernie & Cindy had the crab sticker as Ernie powered through for the two, carrying the heavy wooden chairs.
There were some minor mistakes as pipes started to fall apart for teams but Andy & Tommy gently got to the base and managed to get their structure assembled by weighing down the pipes. I wonder if PVC cement would kill coral, because it would have saved half of the teams. The judge was pretty lenient and the snowboarders left on their first try. They were given a compass and medal for Soap Island and cited that if it weren't for the rocks that the current would have swept them away.
It seemed like Jeremy & Sandy preinstalled several pieces of coral before heading into the water and we never will get a solution whether they broke the rules or not.
On the umbrella side, the men did generally better than the twins whose luck ran out last week. Jennifer started to bicker but the team managed to get lucky. Sandy melted down as the team tried to install umbrellas. Amani & Marcus, Jeremy & Sandy, and Bill & Cathi tried to install the coral, but their structures fell apart. They had to go back and try the other detour as Marcus announced how hard things were.
At the storage shack, the teams started running to umbrellas and chairs as Jeremy screamed at Sandy, more upset about their situation than ever. Ironically, since three teams already picked out their chairs/umbrellas, the chances of finding the right chairs increased. The wind started to kick in as teams struggled with umbrellas and we got several shots of the locals laughing at the twin's pain. Silly blonde Americans.
Andy & Tommy were first to the soap island for the Roadblock clue asking who was "king of the hill" which meant that they would climb a rock to a birds nest and take the clue. For our team two, Justin & Jennifer, they recalled The Goonies moments and I was happy to see that Jennifer took the roadblock.
Ernie & Cindy creatively tried to use water to keep their umbrellas planted firmly in the ground as Marcus was "going crazy." Liz & Marie, even though they were lifeguards, had a new appreciation for the umbrella/chair people. Sandy gave help to the twins as Jeremy screamed at her. The Snowboarders stared down the massive rocks as Andy climbed without too much struggle and got the clue and headed back. They left for the floating city of Ko Panyi's soccer field before Jennifer headed up the rock wall. She saw the clue and aimed for the nest. At least that when they were near the front, they aren't as stressed as when they were at the detour.
Ernie & Cindy were the first to finish the umbrella task but didn't know what north meant on the compass. Laurence & Zac finished quickly afterwards and headed out. Jeremy & Sandy didn't align their chairs correctly as Amani & Marcus jumped a space. Before they left, they gave the twins some helpful advice. Jeremy & Sandy left confused by their clue in hand.
At the floating city, Andy & Tommy arrived in first, excited for a "clean" first. Except for the poor airport terminal knowledge. They only succeeded because they could run on a floating bridge faster than everyone else. Ernie & Cindy were lost in the water as Laurence & Zac got ready to ascend the cliff. Another gust of wind kicked in as the twins struggled to keep their umbrellas from running away. This allowed Bill & Cathi to keep ahead of one team and in a race like this, that's all they needed.
Still lost on the boat Ernie & Cindy looked everywhere as the camera did the "look it's over there" pan, but even they realized that they were miles away and the island was far on the horizon. Amani & Marcus got to the roadblock with Amani climbing for the team. We return to a still lost Ernie & Cindy. Nope, nothing yet. Just like Amani & Marcus, Jeremy & Sandy moved up the ladder as Jeremy decided to climb. Did I mention that there were twins stuck on a beach? They will probably be traumatized by umbrellas on sand for the rest of their lives.
After the commercial break, Ernie actually realized he couldn't read a compass and had the whole thing upside down which still meant that they were sixth to the Roadblock clue. Even if they were lost in sea, they still manage to do better than Bill & Cathi. Zac finished and the two claimed to be really good at reading the map Ernie & Cindy arrived in sixth to the islands to climb. Three hours after they began Liz & Marie finally finished and headed north with their compass.
Amani arrived a bit scared as Jeremy climbed behind her. It didn't seem too horrible if Amani could mentally get herself prepared and climb up. Is looking up easier than looking down into vertigo? Jeremy & Sandy left in fifth as Ernie zoomed up the hill. Cindy reminded the audience that they practiced climbing before they left for the race.
Bill took the roadblock for Ma & Pa in hopes that like Ernie; Bill could make up lost time. Somewhere along the line, Laurence & Zac couldn't read the map and got lost. They blamed the cartographer. Liz & Marie got the roadblock clue so one of the two twins chose to do the task. Cathi had a great view as Ma & Pa left before the twins could even arrive
Marcus & Amani were the front of the middle pack as they ran around the floating city, but Jeremy & Sandy and Laurence & Zac read the correct signs. Ernie & Cindy started to run as they correctly read signs as well. Marcus & Amani lost three places because they couldn't read signs. The Twins were last, disappointed, and convinced that they would be eliminated. With no editing, Bill & Cathi arrived in seventh. Liz & Marie arrived in last place, but were non-eliminated. They would undergo the Speed Bump.
Race Placement
1) Andy & Tommy - Won $10,000
2) Justin & Jennifer
3) Jeremy & Sandy
4) Laurence & Zac
5) Ernie & Cindy
6) Amani & Marcus
7) Bill & Cathi
8) Liz & Marie - Non-eliminated
Next Week: Elephant Races. The twins still probably have rupiah.
Michael Pascua - TVLatest.com
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