April 24: Tell me your troubles and doubts – Tokyo to Luang Prabang, Laos

[Tsylyst]

Some team names I'll be using:

Rachel and Elissa: SisterSludge
Leo and Jamal: Afghanimals
Becca and Floyd: Team Fun
Colin and Christie: Zen Rangers
Nicole and Victor: El Nic Vic
Janelle and Britney: Blonde Ambition
Rupert and Laura: Tie Dye
Tyler and Korey: YouTube
Corinne and Eliza: The Snots
Chris and Bret: WhoDis

 

 

Previously on "The Amazing Race," Art and JJ wasted no time proving why they never should have come back on TV.

Teams are leaving Tokyo, Japan, headed for Luang Prabang, Laos, 25,000 miles away.

Before they can board their plane, they must all search for a specific travel agent where they will pick up their tickets. Mostly, this is a time waster and probably would have hit the cutting room floor except for this brief exchange, which will become important later:

Becca and Floyd agree to work with Rachel and Elissa to find the travel agent. But then Victor and Nicole show up and Becca/Floyd (Team Fun) abandon Sister Sludge for El Nic Vic, which makes Rachel realize they can't trust Team Fun.

Anyway, all teams are on the same flight headed to Laos. In the airport, Rupert and Laura are greeted by the other teams and say they are so happy to still be in the game. They are hoping to remain one team ahead of the elimination again in Leg 2. Being that they were saved only by the incompetence of Art and JJ in the previous Leg, I wouldn't hold my breath.

ROUTE INFO: When teams arrive in Laos, they must travel by tuktuk to a villa where they will await their next clue before sunrise.

Come sunrise, all teams are bunched up. A guy arrives on a bike and hands out clues.

ROUTE INFO: Teams must make their way down the street to a nearby temple where they will pick up two baskets and sit down along the road to give alms to the monks.

Some teams just walk down the road because this place is, like, literally within sight. Other teams decide to take a tuktuk. Corrine and Eliza are running down the middle of the street and nearly get run over by Leo and Jamal's tuktuk.

Don't get your hopes up. They survive to snot-bitch another day.

Baskets in hand, the teams line up along the road and sit down against a wall. At dawn, a bell is run in the temple and the monks make their way down the street collecting alms from people.

When teams return their baskets (still in unison), they get their next clue, which sends them to find a big tree by the Mekong River. That sounds like a pretty general clue, but the teams all find it without difficulty. It seriously looks like it is about one block over from where they were.

Waiting for them at the big tree is a Double U-Turn. Rachel and Elissa reach it first and as the other teams start to line up behind them, Rachel is having a mini-meltdown trying to decide what to do. Eventually, they U-Turn Becca and Floyd as retaliation for Team Fun choosing to work with El Nic Vic instead of Sister Sludge earlier.

Other teams decline to use the U-Turn and eventually it gets down to Leo and Jamal at the U-Turn trying to decide if they are going to use it. They see Team Fun coming up behind them and decide to let them have the honor of U-Turning someone so that they don't get blood on their hands. Afghanimals suggest that Team Fun U-Turn Tyler and Korey, which they do.

So that leaves Team Fun and Team YouTube having to do both tasks in this...wait for it...

DETOUR
ABC: Teams must go to a local school and select a tutor to teach them the Lao alphabet. They must then take a test in front of a class of young students.
BBQ: Teams must go to a marketplace where they will shop for the ingredients then prepare a selection of tilapia and duck skewers.

Besides the U-Turned teams, Corrine and Eliza and Rupert and Laura choose ABC. Everyone else is headed to BBQ.

One of The Snots (I can't be bothered to tell which is witch between Corrine and Eliza) makes a pretty accurate observation that the Lao language sounds a lot like someone from Boston. Every sound seems to be some version of AH or UH, just with a different emphasis.

YouTube are the first to complete the ABC Detour, but still have to head over to BBQ. So when The Snots get their ABC clue, they are in first place.

ROUTE INFO: Teams will next travel by tuktuk to Elephant Village and search for their next clue.

Over at BBQ, the Afghanimals get their clue and head out in second place followed quickly by El Nic Vic. Team Fun also get their clue and are headed to ABC for the second half of their U-Turn.

The clues are flying out of BBQ quickly, so I'm all set for SisterSludge to get theirs...but DENIED! They and YouTube are still there working on their skewers.

Team Fun arrives at ABC and is pleased to see Team Tie Dye (Rupert and Laura) still there because they know other teams are still at BBQ.

Speaking of which, Rachel and Elissa have figured out their skewers and get their clue.

At ABC, Tie Dye gets theirs and sets off in seventh place, followed by Team Fun. YouTube finally get their clue. All teams are now headed to the Elephant Village.

ROAD BLOCK: Using only Lao commands, one member of each team must ride an elephant across a river and find a pair of musicians who are playing special music.

Jamal and Nicole set out pretty much together. Britney, Christie, Corrine, Rachel, Chris, Becca, Tyler and Rupert will do the challenge for their teams.

As a side note, the Lao command for forward sounds like "pie," so about 15 minutes of this episode is just people screaming PIE PIE PIE PIE PIE. Someone get them a slice of pumpkin, stat!

There are a couple groups bunched up in the middle with Becca and Rupert trailing. Then Rupert's elephant stops to eat. (Message from Mags: "Elephant's union and it's lunch time.")

Jamal and Nicole were way ahead of the others, so they are neck and neck on returning with their clue. When they reunite with their teams, they rip the clues open.

PIT STOP: Teams must now make their way by tuktuk to a waiting set of speed boats and travel to Prince Phetsarath Palace and check in with Phil.

Afghanimals and El Nic Vic are in a tuk tuk race to the docks. When they get there, Afghanimals tell Nicole she is going the wrong way and she believes them, which leaves Victor yelling at her as Leo and Jamal hop in a boat and speed away.

Afghanimals check in first and win $2,500 each. Nicole and Victor aren't far behind, but both teams are off the mat by the time SisterSludge arrives and is joined on the mat by several other teams.

Eventually it is just Team Fun and Tie Dye out on the course. Becca and Floyd check in first, and Phil eliminates Rupert and Laura.

Leg 2 Check-ins
1. Leo and Jamal
2. Nicole and Victor
3. Rachel and Elissa
4. Colin and Christie
5. Janelle an Britney
6. Corinne and Eliza
7. Tyler and Korey
8. Chris and Bret
9. Becca and Floyd
Eliminated: Rupert and Laura