Calvin’s Hub

Wow. This is one very good episode of TARA. There’s lots of emotion involved and the top 4 teams had a really good chance of being first. Aside from each other, the racers also have to deal with the heavy rain while doing the tasks.

Let’s get started.

Goldfish to Go

First task is for teams to travel by taxi to Goldfish Market in Mongkok. From there, they have to collect two goldfishes each and deliver it to a fish store in Bonham Strand.

Sam and Vince left very early in the morning and encountered an Hours of Operation at the fish store. They had a few hours to kill so they checked into a room to get some more rest. Actually, they told the camera that they had 8 hours to spare which didn’t quite add up since the store opens at 11 AM. Still sleepy perhaps?

Playing Catch Up

Because of the hours of operation, other teams had a chance to catch up which I think is really good for the race.

While on their way to Mongkok, you can see that Tish is not in a good mood early in the morning. Geoff is being annoying and just brushed her off saying that he was born that way.

Ida and Tania who were the last to head out showed that they got 100HKD each from three teams. Guess who the three teams are? Yup, all teams except Geoff and Tish. Anyway, they had to spend time to beg some more from locals and tourists and eventually got more money than other teams. Hehehe.

Ferry to Macau

When the fish store opened, the first four teams got their clue which is to travel by ferry to Macau. Then in Macau, they have to ride a pedicab to the fountain in Senado Square.

Sam and Vince knew that it’s much easier to get to the ferry by foot than by taxi so they got there in 15 minutes well ahead of the others. They were able to board a ferry before the other teams arrived. Homecourt advantage at its best!

Best Move of the Game

Henry and Bernie, AD and Fuzzie and Geoff and Tish got to the ticket office almost at the same time and they were able to purchase a ticket for the 11:35AM ferry.

Geoff noticed that there’s an 11:30AM ferry that’s already boarding so he walked into a couple of passengers and asked if they could switch boarding pass plus cash to get the 5-minute advantage. They got it and I think this was a really, really good move in Geoff’s part. We’ll get to that later.

So anyway, Team Philippines boarded the ferry 5 minutes earlier while the other 2 teams are stuck waiting for their boarding call.

Ida and Tania just arrived at the Goldfish Market by this time so they still had a lot of catching up to do.

We’re in Macau and a Yield

As expected, Sam and Vince arrived in Macau first. They had a 15-minute advantage from 2nd place which were Geoff and Tish.

In Senado Square, they got their next clue which is to head to Macau Tower with a chance to yield other teams. For those who do not know, when a team is yielded they had to turn a big hourglass over and wait for it to finish before they can continue with the race.

Sam and Vince got to Macau Tower first but chose not to yield anybody and just proceeded with their next task which is a roadblock.

ROADBLOCK: Climb the Ladder of Success

In this roadblock, teams must go to the 61st floor and a team member must climb the ladder of the mast on top of Macau Tower. It is a long and physically demanding task and it was starting to rain a bit and it can get windy at the top.

Vince chose to do the roadblock.

Yield or Be Yielded

When Geoff and Tish arrived at Senado Square, they saw some Filipinos lounging around cheering for them. They also left some money for Ida and Tania at the clue box. How nice of them. They were just waiting for a clue box where they could leave the money and this was the first one.

Anyway when they got to Macau Tower, they chose to use the Yield on Henry and Bernie. Now if Geoff didn’t trade for the earlier ticket, it could be the other way around at the Yield point.

Smart move Geoff. But you don’t have to be cocky about it when you arrived at the tower while Sam was waiting for Vince. Tish felt uneasy if she’s to face Henry and Bernie when they get to the tower.
___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

More Scenes From Macau Tower

It was really windy at the top and Vince had no gloves. Geoff came prepared with gloves and was able to reach the final ladder while Vince was just getting down.

AD and Fuzzie arrived at the Tower ahead of Henry and Bernie and Fuzzie chose to do the roadblock. I wonder why AD didn’t contest the decision.

When Henry and Bernie arrived, they expected to be yielded but not by Geoff and Tish. Henry admitted that he was a bit hurt with the yield and said something about Geoff being a “fake”. He even drew on Geoff and Tisha’s photo while waiting.

At last the Yield has ended and Bernie chose to do the task. Ida and Tania just arrived at Macau at this point.

Vince got back to Sam and they head off to the next task before Henry and Bernie arrived leaving Tish and AD at the waiting area. When Henry and Bernie arrived, they didn’t bother acknowledging Tish who was feeling awkward sitting all by herself (AD was walking around). Luckily, Geoff finished shortly and they left for the next task leaving AD and Henry who referred to Geoff as a “Scum” under his breath.

Dragon Boat Time

After the climb, teams must head to the Dragon Boat Pier and row a dragon boat to complete a course. It’s another physical task and I feel sorry for the girls who did the climb task.

Vince who was tired from climbing got hot-tempered and snapped at Sam who was just egging him to “pump it up”.

Geoff and Tish were just minutes behind them. Good thing Geoff’s very fit and he was a bit pumped even after climbing.

Back at the Tower, Fuzzie was feeling the effect of the climb and had to rest in between ladders. This allowed Bernie to catch up and overtook Fuzzie.

At this point, Ida and Tania just arrived at Senado Square and were touched by Geoff’s and Tish’s gesture with leaving them some cash.

Sam and Vince still finished the dragon boat task first but Team Philippines are clearly gaining on them. They even managed to catch up with Sam and Vince getting into a taxi for their next task.

DETOUR: Dance or Chance

In the next task, teams must choose between Dance and Chance. In Dance, they had to learn the moves of a lion dance and must perform them correctly. In Chance, teams must wear a formal evening attire and play blackjack. They must win against the dealer 9 times in order to spell out C-O-M-P-L-E-T-E-D.

Sam and Vince chose to do Chance while Geoff and Tish went with Dance. Awww, Tisha would look gorgeous in a slinky dress.

At the casino, Sam switched the name tags attached to the eveningwear of the Henry and Bernie saying that Henry would look good in a dress. Hehehe.

Meanwhile, Ida and Tania just arrived at the Tower and were very excited to see the other teams. Tania did the climb just as Bernie finished hers leaving Fuzzie still trying to climb the last few ladders.

It’s Really Pouring

The weather in Macau was pretty bad. It was raining hard and there’s lightning all around. Geoff even slipped on his butt from the slippery floor prompting them to remove their shoes and go barefoot while practicing the dance moves.

At the Tower, they had to cancel the last part of the climb for safety reasons so they just gave the clue once a racer reach the last deck. Fuzzie was not happy with herself saying that she didn’t earn the clue the right way.

With the heavy rain, it was also hard to do the dragon boat task and Bernie was clearly tired from the climb. When AD and Fuzzie got to their dragon boat, AD confronted Fuzzie why she volunteered to do the roadblock. Fuzzie was too tired to row and didn’t bother to argue.

Race for First

TARA did some nice editing at this point switching between Team Philippines and Team HK who were racing for first place. They made it look like the two teams were really head to head to make it more exciting. I don’t think they are.

Geoff and Tisha completed their task first and Geoff even asked if he could keep the pants. Sam and Vince finished shortly afterwards. Next task is to head to the A-MA Cultural Village for their next clue.

One More Challenge at the Pit Stop

Geoff and Tisha got to A-MA first which they found out was the next Pit Stop. But before they could enter the place, they must arrange the lanterns with Chinese zodiac signs printed on them in the correct order. This is a bit hard for non-Chinese people but there is a cheat sheet provided though.

While on their way to A-MA, Vince was thinking that they may be first since it’s harder to get a taxi at the place where the Dance task was located. They were clearly wrong though.

Back at the lake, Henry and Bernie just finished rowing while Ida and Tania were dropped off at the wrong side of the lake and lost some time. By the time they got to the lake, AD and Fuzzie were just finishing with their boat task.

The remaining teams decided to do the Chance task by the way.

So Who’s First?

Geoff and Tisha were having problems with their Chinese zodiac after a number of attempts that Sam and Vince managed to catch up with them. Eventually, Team Philippines managed to get it right before Sam and Vince and were rewarded with the 1st place and a 40″ Sony Bravia LCD TV and PS3 each. Great job guys! ___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

Blackjack Fun

Henry got a good laugh when they arrived at the casino and saw his outfit but they quickly went on with their task.

When AD and Fuzzie arrived, they clearly showed their distaste for wearing a formal dress. If Henry and Bernie were having a hard time winning, AD and Fuzzie were taking a long time getting into their dresses.

AD and Fuzzie caught up with Henry and Bernie who were just about to finish.

After a short while, Ida and Tania managed to catch up with AD and Fuzzie who still finished ahead of them. Tania looked gorgeous in her dress by the way.

Taxi Problem

Meanwhile, Henry and Bernie were still outside the casino waiting for a cab to take them to A-MA. They’re clearly unlucky at this point.

AD and Fuzzie managed to get a taxi EVEN before Henry and Bernie did and got to A-MA first. They quickly solved the Chinese zodiac in just one try and cannot believe it when Allan mentioned that they were team number 3!

Henry and Bernie arrived after awhile and they were also surprised to hear that they are team number 4. Henry was really disappointed and could not believe that AD and Fuzzie got ahead of them. He had a warning for Geoff and Tish as well for crossing them.

Finally, when Ida and Tania arrive at the Pit Stop, Allan gave them the good news. It’s another non-elimination leg folks and the girls were really happy! Instead of surrendering their money, they have to come in first on the next leg or they would take a 30-minute penalty. You can do it girls!

Here’s the placement of each team after the 7th leg:

1st Geoff and Tisha (40″ Sony Bravia and PS3 each)
2nd Sam and Vince
3rd AD and Fuzzie
4th Henry and Bernie
5th Ida and Tania (1st place or 30-minute penalty on the next leg)

Just Some Thoughts

First off, congratulations to Team Philippines for being first! The ticket switch paid off and the Yield was a smart move. You did a great job on the lion dance too! Watch your back though for Henry and Bernie, they are really determined now.

Was Sam being a fake when he high-fived Tish when she told him that they yielded Henry and Bernie?

AD and Fuzzie continued to have luck on their side. What are the odds that Henry and Bernie being stuck without a taxi for a long time after finishing their blackjack?

Henry and Bernie were clearly unlucky but are still favored to be on the top 3. The rivalry due to the Yield should make things more interesting.

Ida and Tania, I’m glad that you guys are not yet eliminated. You girls really show that you wanted to race and not be last. I hope you’ll manage to squeak into the top 4.

Thanks for reading! Till next week when they probably would be on their way to India.

If you still can’t get enough of TARA after reading this, check out my TARA bookmarks.

You might also be interested in:

• The Amazing Race Asia 3 – Episode 6
• The Amazing Race Asia 3 – Episode 5
• The Amazing Race Asia 3 – Episode 8
• The Amazing Race Asia 3 – Episode 3

Filed under: Amazing Race Asia