Amazing Race Season 13: Excitement begins and new destinations

by Jamie Rhein on

As much as I enjoyed watching I Survived a Japanese Game Show, there is no better way to vicariously travel than watching the Amazing Race when it comes to reality TV. It’s been months since T.J. and Rachel, our favorite hippie couple won the million in Season 12.

In last night’s episode, the first of the season, a different cast of characters headed off from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in a pell mell dash for LAX airport and the first leg of their journey to a fortune. And if not a fortune, a heck of an adventure. The teams ranged from a separated middle-aged couple looking to see if they can salvage their marriage, to an older hippie bee-keeping older couple wanting to love the world, to divorcee women friends who think their bad marriages have honed them for the challenges of travel.

True to real life, the airport proved to be one of the biggest hurdles as some of the teams tried to find the right ticket counters and delt with overbooked flights as a result of standing in the wrong line.

First destination: Salvador, Brazil

Recap and impressions and cultural sites:

In the midst of gearing up for completion, there were friendly hellos and glad to meet yous when there wasn’t much else to do but wait for a plane to board.

Although Salvador, the first colonial capital of Brazil, is known as being a fun and easy going place, our eleven new couple friends didn’t have much time for frolic. From the minute they scrambled out of their American Airlines and United Airlines flights after a plane change in Rio de Janeiro came the unnerving task of making it around a bustling city they didn’t know. That was after the stress of delayed and over-booked flights.

Salvador looked like a stroll-worthy city with it’s gorgeous architecture and narrow streets that meander through markets. Instead of strolling through the bounty, the teams first headed to a O Rei Do Pernil sandwich shop where they learned they were to push a loaded vendor’s cart to Praca Da Se, a popular square where they would find the next clue.

The carts were piled with snack food candy that dropped off with the tiniest bump on the cobblestone. That was no wonder. From what I could tell, the carts weren’t much bigger than a balance beam, probably so that they could be maneuvered through crowds.

The candy with the most camera time was Blong (the pink and blue boxes in the picture). I have no idea what it tastes like, but I’m curious. If I’m ever in Brazil, I’m trying some.

Although candies fell off the cart like rain at times, the couples kept their cool for the most part–everyone’s still in that “I’m a good little traveler mode.”

Traffic didn’t present too much trouble as heavy as it was, and no one went the wrong way despite language barriers with the taxi drivers once the cabs were found. At least, I didn’t pick up on unbearable tension.

Once the teams delivered their carts, they were off to a military base to spend the night in the jungle with mosquito nets protecting them from attack. I assume there were mosquitoes, but no one talked about them. The jungle stay did point out that this part of Brazil is lush with rain forest.

On the second day out, the first stop was Pelourinho, the historic center that is the original town. Dating back to the mid 1500s or so, it is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The first details of the day’s task was found at a gorgeous church.

There were two tasks to choose from: “Hard Way Up” or “Soft Way Down.” Everyone but Andrew and Dan chose Soft Way Down.

Soft Way Down meant scaling a rope webbing down the 236 feet of Elevador Lacerda, a building with an elevator that connects the upper and lower sections of Salvador.

The view from the top was stunning, but like one of the blonds said, “I cant’ even enjoy the view because I’m about to pee in my pants.” Once the height factor was dealt with, scaling down wasn’t too difficult. They were strapped into a safety harness so no one would go splat and ruin the show.

The Hard Way Up involved climbing a serious off weathered stone stairs leading to the cathedral Escadaria do Passo on hands and knees. Devotees do this, we were told. Although not exactly fun, the task wasn’t particularly difficult except for the samba drummer who stood at the top playing loudly the whole time. Once at the top, Mark & Bill were asked the question, “How many stairs?” Since they weren’t into stair counting the first time up, back they went to do it again. Number of stairs? 53

From the Elevador Lacerda, the next stop was the Pit Stop at Forte Sao Marcelo, a floating battlement off the shore. accessible by boat. From the elevator, it’s quicker to walk then take a taxi as brother/sister team Nick and Starr found out. They arrived at the Pit Stop first due to their quick thinking.

For their first place standing, they won a five-day trip to Belize.

Eliminated: Anita and Arthur, the hippie bee keepers/blueberry farmers came slightly loping in last, but seemed okay with the elimination. How many people can say they scaled down a 236-feet building in Brazil?

The moral is, if you don’t want to come in last, you have to hustle. Anita and Arthur’s speed never revved up. The heat held them back, they said. Being from Oregon proved to be a liability for this gentle team.

Their words of travel wisdom: You can be assertive, but treat people well.

Travel Tips pointed out in 1st episode:

  • When driving in Los Angeles, use the commuter lane on the left. It will save you loads of time.
  • If you ever have to wind a vendors cart, or any kind of cart and things keep spilling off, wrap your jacked around the loot. It works wonders as Mark and Bill discovered.
  • When in Portugal, it helps to know some Portuguese like Sarah does and helped put Terence and her in the front of the pack.
  • Ask for help from local people. One woman helped one of the teams push their candy cart and because Starr and Nick asked
  • Spend time in Pelourinho if you’re in Salvador. An important detail, not mentioned on the show, this area was central to the slave trade. For its counterpart in Senegal, head to Goree Island.

Who I am rooting for: It’s too soon to tell. No one popped out as a total idiot, or root-for worthy yet. I did like that Andrew and Dan were the only two to climb the stairs. I’d have felt bad if the drummers were all set to play and no one showed up.

Why to stay tuned: Which teams lose their cool first? Plus, new destinations where the show has not been filmed in the past are on the horizon. The teams also go to India, one of my favorite countries.

((Photos from Amazing Race Web site.)

Travel Channel to show Season 12 of Amazing Race

by Jamie Rhein on

To tide you over until Amazing Race 13 begins on September 28, tune into The Travel Channel. Starting September 3 at 8 p.m. EST, season 12 will be shown.

Although the winners from season 12 are known– Rachel and T.K., the couple who had smart ideas about how to use the dough (although with the abysmal showing of the current market and housing crisis, I wonder how that went?) there are travel tidbits about each of the countries the contestants visited and host Phil Keoghan’s commentaries.

My favorite episode was the Burkina Faso leg, particularly when most teams didn’t know how to say the capital Ouagadougou when they found out where they were heading. The camel milking made for the best TV. Plus, of all the locations, this was probably the one that was the most obscure to many of the folks who tuned in to watch.

Here’s a review of that episode on TV Squad to refresh your memory or to catch you up to the crazy antics that can happen as teams of two people race around the world on a chase for a million dollars.

Jason Hughes, at TV Squad wonders if The Travel Channel’s airing of the show may mean that CBS is thinking about pulling the plug since it is only picked up season by season. In that case, The Travel Channel could take it over. I hope it will stay on CBS so people can see it without cable.

Amazing Race 13 cast revealed: Yeah!

by Jamie Rhein on

Joy! Rapture! A bit of excitement is heading to Sunday night TV on September 28 at 8 PM on CBS. Yes, folks. The Amazing Race returns. This round is season 13.

The cast has been revealed and is now up at the Amazing Race website. Thanks to Jaunted for giving me the heads up when I received my daily Jaunted missive yesterday.

There’s a link in the Jaunted post to the L.A. Times travel blog, “Daily Travel and Deal.” Here, editor Maret Orliss, senior programming manager for Los Angeles Times Events presents her impressions of each couple after chatting with them in person.

As usual, there are the team combos that we’ve come to know and count on for good TV:

  • The blondes
  • The parent/child where someone wants to bond more with the other
  • The incredibly competent couple who gets along so well that you’re left wondering what the hell is wrong with your own life
  • The couple whose non-stop squabbling is something you recognize, or if you’re lucky, leaves you feeling like the couple in the above example.
  • The older couple who is too sweet for words and have a snowball’s chance in hell of ever winning
  • The sibling pair who think that each of them are the best thing since sliced bread
  • The pair who is sure they will win because of they are so much better qualified than any others. Duh.

I’ll miss seeing two of the couples from last season when I tune in. They are:

Kynt and Vyxsin, the Goth pair who I consistently rooted for, and Donald and Nick, the grandfather/grandson team who came in second. Don was the oldest contestant to do so well and watching the two of them was TV worth watching.

Here are the countries the teams hoped to see by being Season 13 contestants, according to Orliss’s reporting. As we watch this season, let’s see if any of them get to go to the country of their dreams.

  • Latvia
  • Argentina
  • Italy
  • Greece
  • New Zealand
  • Egypt or another African country
  • Tibet
  • Nepal
  • Mongolia
  • Fiji
  • Israel

Click here for the video clip of “Meet the Cast.” As Phil Keoghan, the host of the show says, one reason to tune in week after week is that this is a chance to see “Ordinary people doing extraordinary things.”

Amazing Race 12, episode 11 recap (finale!)

by Jamie Rhein on

After 10 cities, 4 continents, nearly 30,000 miles, and the eliminated racers cheering on an airport tarmac this episode of Amazing Race 12 truly felt like a race to the finish. Besides getting my heart rate up a bit with wanting either Nick & Don to win, or TK & Rachel, it gave me a push to put Alaska on my go-to-soon list.

As tense as the teams felt, this was an episode when thrill was the theme and whoever thinks up these tasks should get a bonus. I loved it.

First, there were the sweeping shots of Taipei and Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Plaza where the teams left off in episode 10. Then, next stop, Anchorage, Alaska. Christina & Ron, with their first place edge. pulled a smooth move at the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport –a good tip to keep in mind. After booking their seats on China Airlines, Ron asked if they could get an upgrade to the lounge. Sweet. They used it for the Internet to find the address of their first stop in Anchorage–6th Avenue Outfitters.

Don’t these folks ever drink coffee? While Christina was doing a Web search, I would have been looking for coffee. I mean, they already knew when their flight was leaving. They already had their assigned seats at the front of the plane because Christina asked for them so they could get off the plane first. What’s the hurry? It’s not like they enjoyed the lounge at all.

In the meantime, it was amusing to watch Don & Nate and TK & Rachel wonder and worry about the whereabouts of Christina & Ron since the dynamic duo was no where in sight. Ah, the sigh of relief when the two showed up, trotting down the steps from their lame lounge experience. As what happened with many of the legs of the race, the teams ended up on the same flight–and as with most situations in life, the worry was for naught.

Up to this point, we also got a recap about what was going on in each team’s mind. “My dad and I are stronger and smarter,” said Christina. “Staying calm…to slow down and do one task at a time,” said Rachel. “To have respect for my grandfather,” said Nick. Christina’s little comment dropped her off my “who I want to win” list. One needs to keep in mind, pride comes before a fall, particularly on national television.

Ron & Christina did keep their first place lead for a long, long while. As TK remarked, “I’ve seen Ron run like a Ninja.” Ron never did let that hernia get to him. Matter of fact, I don’t think he said the H word once this episode, even when he was scaling up the sheer ice cliff with the aid of ice climbing gear.

Speaking of gear. Here’s where Nick & Don had a big heartbreak. All teams got to 6th Avenue Outfitters without a problem, but Nick didn’t read the clue carefully enough and left the gear they needed behind at the store. At the first Detour, discovered at Ship Creek Boat Launch, they either had to fillet cod–huge, huge fish, or grab crab. One of the cod held a clue inside. One of the crabs had a marking on its shell that would lead them to a clue.

Ron’s reaction to filleting fish was a hoot. “This isn’t an easy task for a city slicker…This is a lot of nasty guts,” he said. But he chopped away with determination that paid off since he and Christiana found the clue before TK and Rachel had jumped into the crab tanks to start grabbing.

Poor Don & Nick. Once they got to the dock and discovered they needed gloves and a knife, they had to hustle back to the outfitters to pick up their gear. Oh, the horror of traveling when it’s discovered something important has been left behind. What could have ruined everything wasn’t that bad. Don had only one stern remark for his careless grandson, dropping the lecture pretty quickly. I like that guy. Besides, the outfitters couldn’t possibly have been all that far away or TK and Rachel spent way too much time in the crab tank before switching to spilling fish guts. In no time at all Don, with tools now in hand, slit open that fish like a pro and found the clue placing Nick and him close on the heels of TK & Rachel.

About this point, I noticed that the Amazing Race music had really picked up the pace. The music was racing as the teams raced in speed boats up 2-Mile River to the glacier that each team member had to climb up using climbing paraphernalia in order to get to their next clue. “This is awesome!” shouted TK during the speed boat ride. For the audience there was some wonderful shots of the landscape as the teams zipped between the river banks and by what looked like small islands of ice.

Christina had the hardest time with the glacier climbing task and called out a tremulous “Daddy,” as if Ron could give her a hand up or come down to get her or something. He was pleased as punch with himself over his own climb since he’s afraid of heights and quipped that maybe he ought to take lessons. Finally Christina hauled herself up and over, maintaining their first place spot as they climbed into a helicopter.

The teams’ helicopter rides to their next stop, Merrill Field afforded them a gorgeous view of miles of Alaskan wilderness. “Sigh.” I did think, “My, this leg of the race isn’t particularly environmentally friendly,” but that thought left as quickly as it came. Once in Merrill Field the teams had to take a taxi to Goose Lake Park, which is back in Anchorage. Here, one person from each team had to do a task with incredibly confusing directions. I tried, but I couldn’t keep up.

Here’s the idea of it. There were items from each leg of the race. The team member had to gather 10 items together, but they had to be in a certain combination. If they got that combination right, their next clue popped up out of a black box. It reminded me a bit of the party game where there are assorted items on a tray. People look at the items for one minute, then the items are taken away. Whoever can remember the most items wins.

Christina’s smarts didn’t help her much as she wandered among the chicken, donkey, bowl of camel’s milk, vaulting pole, bicycle, gas tanks, U-Turn sign, Blackberry, stilts, and a cleaning guy from Japan. Yes, three cleaning guys from Japan were there (one for each team). Eventually she resorted to swearing, i.e.,. “Africa frickin’ and “Netherlands frickin” etc. etc. She even said the F word once–there was a bleep in place of what she said–and I started liking her more again. Then she said a “Lord help me” and I thought, “Yep, I’ve been there too.”

In the meantime, Rachel kept at this daunting memory game and Nick worked on his. Don turned to Ron while they watched and said, “No sense me doing this. I’d be there forever” while Christina wondered how she’d ever get the donkey up on the platform.

Finally, Rachel figured out the combination of items and the clue popped up. The cleaning man was in the mix of items because he is an animal in case anyone wonders what humans have in common with donkeys. I didn’t quite figure out the combination myself, but this was a brilliant way for the Amazing Race to give a recap of the other episodes. At one point Rachel looked at the pole and said, “I don’t remember that,” and I’m thinking, as the show played black and white footage of her vaulting over the ditch (I think it was her) using a pole, how could anyone forget Don stripped down to his underwear?

So, there is Rachel & TK vaulting ahead while Christina is still praying and Nick looks up in disbelief that his brain is not functioning as well as he’d hoped. At this point I figured Nick & Don were not coming in first. There was still one more stop to go. Taking a taxi, the teams had to head to “the Cook’s eye view of the Sleeping Lady” which is a statue of Captain James Cook in downtown Anchorage.

There, they got another clue that told them to head on foot to the salmon hooker, a statue of a fish. That clue told them to head to the finish at Girdwood Airport. There was a bit of excitement since Christina figured out the item combination not long after Rachel did but TK and Rachel kept their lead and finished first with their eliminated fellow racers clapping and yelling for them. TK’s first comment, as he’s clutching his head at the finish line, “I can’t believe it. This is freaking me out.”

I’m not sure what I’d do if I realized I had just won a half a million dollars with my significant other laying claims to the same amount. Even after winning the race, those two stayed calm. “She’s petite, but she’s tough,” said TK. “TK’s my best friend,” said Rachel.

It does seem that everyone who finished in the top three got what they most needed from this traveling sprint around the world. Christina & Ron got a better relationship like they wanted. “I learned a lot. How to become a better person,” said Ron. Christina agreed that their new improved relationship–their friendship is worth more than a million dollars. Nick and Don wanted quality time, which they certainly got. “I got everything I wanted from it and more,” said Nick. I thought about the tattoos that he and Don now have to always remind them of Italy. That’s certainly more than they wanted.

Despite not getting a million dollars, I’d be thrilled if I were the other two teams. Each of them got to go around the world on someone else’s dime and see things they never would have seen otherwise–plus a helicopter ride in Alaska. How cool is that? Plus, a million may be more aggravation than it’s worth–maybe. Who knows what’s in store for TK & Rachel except for some talk show appearances, new cars and a house possibly? Best thing of all about this race, Don proved that if you’re pushing 70, don’t let that stop you. Get your bag and go.

**All pictures from the Amazing Race Web site.

Amazing Race 12: Recap of nothing. Instead Survivor:China gets on my nerves

by Jamie Rhein on

Okay, you can bet I was disappointed to not have my fix of Amazing Race tonight. Particularly after enjoying Martha’s recap of last week. I missed the show because I was having my white knuckle drive back from Kentucky. Tonight, I was all set to take notes on who said what and did what for my own recap, but no. Amazing Race was not on. Instead, there was a two-hour Survivor: China. While I watched Survivor, a show I have never seen before, I thought about what makes Amazing Race such an interesting show–and why Survivor gets on my nerves.

Sure there are parts of Amazing Race that are staged, such as hoisting furniture through windows in Amsterdam and milking camels in Burkina Faso, but the activities are mostly the type of activities people in those countries really do. Not all people in those countries, but the people whose jobs are to milk camels, like this woman in Niger (next to Burkina Faso) or hoist furniture, like the photo below. The Amazing Race is one of movement with varying backdrops. Segments don’t have to be created to be more entertaining, as anyone who travels knows. Entertainment and craziness can happen as soon as one steps off an airplane in another country and culture, particularly if you are traveling without a lot of direction.

The Amazing Race feels natural to me. Perhaps this is because there is not an endless amount of time–or at least footage of people who blather on about each other and their inner thoughts. Heavens, does everyone who ends up on a reality TV show watch the same video on how to talk on a reality TV show? I hope it’s not catching.

Can you imagine what it would be like if we all talked with each other in the same tones of voice with the music notes highlighting tension?

In Amazing Race we get Jennifer screeching at Nathan; Ronald acting like an admiring and disgruntled dad towards daughter Christina; and Nicholas shaking his head at his grandfather’s antics. Then there’s Vyxsin and Kynt who were characters from the get go, and are still characters, but are shown as being people just like anyone else as time goes on. TK and Rachel, also still in the race, seem like if you ran into them in their regular lives, they’d be–well, regular.

People on the Amazing Race are on the move, trying to buy tickets, working on being polite and understood. People don’t have time to work on their personas while they are traveling thousands of miles at a time.

The other thing about Amazing Race that is done well is that there’s a decent look at the countries where the contestants travel. There is a sense of place that if you actually went to one of these countries you’d have some idea of what you might see. In Survivor: China, you could have staged the show in Hawaii, put up a few Buddha statues and a fake temple and the show could be the same. For example, when told to enjoy their last night in China, there were the last three contestants lying in their bamboo lean -to blabbing on and on with each other. What kind of enjoyment is that? What actually lets them know that they are in China? Did someone say, “Welcome to China?” Where are the Chinese people? The Chinese American contestant doesn’t count.

Then when they woke up there was breakfast in front of a small Buddha statue looking like an offering to the ancestors. This is co-opting culture in my opinion. The element of culture is there without any explanation of what it means.

Instead the last three squealed at discovering pancake batter and got busy with a frying pan and the fire. Watching them cook pancakes on a fire made me think of that WoodGas Camp Stove I reviewed. A WoodGas Camp Stove would come in handy on Survivor. In Amazing Race there is always, as far as I remember, an explanation of cultural traits as part of every activity. While browsing through photos of past episodes of Survivor: China I did see some elements of Chinese culture like when there was an archery contest using an ancient Chinese cross-bow.

Also, with all that torch carrying and recapping of what has happened from days ago to just last minute, on Survivor it’s like a non-stop tiki torch party–and a soap opera. With soap operas all you really need to do is watch once in awhile to stay abreast of happenings since the people will talk about what they did several episodes ago for several episodes. Seriously, I used to watch Days of Our Lives years ago. I happened to catch part of a show last week and knew what was happening right away. I spent little time catching up–five minutes tops. Kayla and Patch are back on. And Sammy and Lucas are still having problems, although Will is grown. Like a soap opera, the contestants also wear outfits they wouldn’t wear elsewhere. How many ways can you fashion an outfit out of a piece of cloth that says Survivor: China on it? Don’t get me started on cultural sensitivity and dress. At least in Amazing Race a factor isn’t how one might look in a bathing suit. Remember Don, Nathan’s grandpa?

If you miss one episode of the Amazing Race you can miss an entire country and not see events like Nathan’s dad stripping down to his underwear while pole vaulting over a ditch. You wouldn’t know that the Internet can often come in handy while locating the best airline ticket options, but you should go directly to the Air France office if you’re in Ouagadougou. Also, if you have a hernia, don’t let that stop you from traveling. Ronald has a hernia and he walks on stilts.

As I browsed through the various episodes of Survivor: China to see what I missed, I did see that some folks made it to the Great Wall while those back at camp ate Asian pears. That’s authentic.

If you ever do make it to Jiangxi province where Survivor: China was filmed, it is filled with historical sites, lakes and mountains. It’s also the porcelain capital of the country. Porcelain has been made here for 1,800 years. Oh, so that must be why in this particular episode of the final four the contestants had to stack various porcelain dishes. No one said this is why they were stacking them to see who could stack them best in order to win a spot on the Tribal Council–another co-opting of culture. Tribal councils do exist. I’m not sure this what they look like. If so, where do they get their tiki torches? Walmart? Oh, well. I ended up switching Survivor: China off once I found out who won. Todd. He’s the guy taking a drink. For some reason, I thought he’d win when I first tuned in. I just couldn’t listen to anymore talking about who did what and why for 45 more minutes. Anyway, Survivor Micronesia is next. It looks like Survivor: China considering that the torches were in full blaze in the teaser. And, I have to say, from the small bit I saw, it still looks kind of like Hawaii. I guess Hawaii: Survivor 16 might sound kind of dull, but consider this. Amazing Race 12 still has a ring to it.

I did see that Amazing Race is back on next Sunday. Hooray!!! It’s been okay dabbling in Survivor, but I’d much rather watch people like TK and Rachel looking like I have when I’ve traveled. Their photo reminds me what it’s like to sleep on the deck of a ferry from Greece to Italy back in the day when I was traveling with a boyfriend who, come to think of it, looked a lot like TK. I bet these two went to sleep without talking about the endless minutia of the day. I know we did.

Our ferry ride was after hoofing it from the island Skopolos to Athens via another ferry that left at night . There were two train rides also involved–the one to Athens and the one from Athens. We barely made the connections and almost missed the ferry. That would have made us miss our train ride in Italy and added a couple extra days to our trip. It felt so great to lie down.