The Amazing Race 10, episode 3, Mongolia to Hanoi, Vietnam
For this third leg of Amazing Race 10, the nine remaining teams took off in the order of finish the day before and were instructed to fly to Hanoi, Vietnam and find the Hoa Lo Prison, nicknamed the Hanoi Hilton during the Vietnam War. American soldiers, including Senator John McCain, were held captive there for years during this war. It was nice to see some of the teams take a moment to reflect upon this and recognize all of the sacrifices our men and women in the armed forces are asked to make.
The Race threw another new twist at contestants by not giving them any extra money for this next leg. No team truly suffered directly from this, but it may add some new strategizing as the race continues. For example, do you take a taxi, get their faster, but maybe run out of money for later in the race; or take the bus, save some money, but risk elimination?
The Father/Daughter team of Duke and Lauren came closest to jeopardy with this development, but it was really their ‘guide’ that caused them trouble. They thought they had found some help from a local woman to guide them through Hanoi, but after slowing down to wait for her to get her luggage, she then took them on a detour so she could get dropped off first and left them on their own. Along the way, they did run out of the necessary cab fare, but thanks to the kindness of the cab driver were able to get away with it.
Before getting to Vietnam, the teams all met up to purchase tickets back in Mongolia. While waiting for the ticket office to open, the teams basically agreed to form a line. As the doors opened there were multiple ticket-tellers available and the teams filed in and took positions one-by-one. However, Tom and Terry (T-and-T) screw it up and walk past their agent, so Dustin and Kandice (Beauty Queens) rightfully take the spot. When Tom and Terry realize their mistake, they start to pitch a fit about Dustin and Kandice cutting in line. This is ridiculous! If Dustin and Kandice had thrown some elbows and forced Tom and Terry out of the way, then yes, they would have been wrong. (But it’s still a race and no laws were broken, but anyway…) In this situation, Tom and Terry were the ones that screwed up and should not have any expectations of the other teams slowing down to give them a ‘do-over’. It’s like the teams forget it’s called AMAZING RACE, and NOT Amazing Tour Group.
ROADBLOCK: To make money the teams had to have one member sell flowers on the streets of Hanoi. The selling seemed fairly simple but riding the bicycles was a bit more difficult. Once the women of Hanoi realized what the contestants were trying to do, there was a bit of a rush to buy the flowers and all teams got through the task fairly quickly. I sometimes wonder if the cameras help as they create interest.
From the roadblock, the teams proceed to the smaller town of Vác by way of bus. Peter and Sarah are in first place but get on the wrong bus and end up in last place. Brothers Erwin and Godwin head off in 5th place but end up taking first for the DETOUR. They capitalize on this lead and finish first in episode 3 of Amazing Race 10.
DETOUR: Fuel or Fowl. Fuel was a nasty and dirty task of taking coal with the consistency of mud and making bricks. Fowl was a cleaner but more detailed task of assembling a bird cage. Only Duke and Lauren chose the bird cage as they accidentally stumbled upon it while looking for the Fuel work area.
Tom and Terry again screwed up in this episode by breaking the rules and utilizing a ride on motorbikes from locals to the clue station for the detour. When they got to the checkpoint, the rice field of Canh Dong Dia, Phil made them aware of their mistake and penalized them by 30 minutes. This penalty almost put them out of the race, but in the end, Duke and Lauren were still last and became the fourth team eliminated from Amazing Race 10.
David and Mary again get credit for the title of the 3rd episode of Amazing Race 10. When fetching the clue for the final detour, the clue-box is surrounded by drummers and what I guess you’d call dragon-dancers. All teams were entertained by this display, but Mary exclaims; ‘Oh wow, it’s like one of those things you see on TV!’ I like David and Mary because they are so genuine. They know their world in Kentucky is small and are truly enjoying all of the experiences the race is offering them. I fear Mary’s strained ankle is ultimately going to put them out of the race.
Previews for the next leg promise some more drama from Peter and Sarah and, of course, Rob and Kimberly. Sarah champions a task even with her leg, but Peter wants to quit another task and this disappoints Sarah. Rob and Kimberly just have their usual temper-tantrums. We shall see.
[tags] Amazing Race 10, Reality TV [/tags]
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