The Accidental Columnist: The Amazing Race 3 - Episode 10
by Mary Russell
Published: December 13, 2002
In Episode 10 of The Amazing Race 3 the teams traveled from Singapore to Vietnam. The episode featured Flo yelling, crying, and whining, two teams getting very lost, and one of the most surprising eliminations so far!
The summary of the second half of the previous episode is here. The standings from the end of the last episode are below with the departure times for this episode.
1. Team Zoolander: Derek and Drew departed at 10:22 p.m.
2. Team Bald Brothers: Gerard and Ken departed at 10:33 p.m.
3. Team Platonic: Flo and Zach departed at 10:34 p.m.
4. Team Married: Teri and Ian departed at 10:45 p.m.
From Singapore to Vietnam
When teams started this leg of the race, they found that they had to travel more than 700 miles to Ho Chi Minh City. Once in Ho Chi Minh City, teams needed to find the statue of Bac Ho in Rex Square. Phil Keoghan also noted that the red and yellow TAR flags would only be yellow during the legs of the race in Vietnam so as to not be confused with the national flag of Vietnam, which is red with a yellow star. There was no indication how much money the teams received for this leg of the race.
Ken and Gerard left the Pit Stop soon after the Twins and the Bald Brothers had ordered two cabs so that the Twins wouldn't take their cab to wherever they next needed to go. I think this was very good thinking on Ken and Gerard's part and helped them get to the airport quickly. Zach said in an interview segment, as he and Flo were starting the race, that he was looking forward to never having Flo yell at him again because he doesn't like the way it feels. Ugh, poor Zach. I hope TAR gave him some hazard pay if they don't win the big prize.
As the teams were going to the airport, the Bald Brothers, Platonic, and Married asked their taxi drivers to use their cell phones to try to book tickets to Vietnam. The Twins were very lucky because Zach booked tickets for Twins while he was booking tickets for Flo and himself. The Bald Brothers decided to get on an 11:30 p.m. flight to Kuala Lumpur and there were some moments of tension for the viewers because it was not clear if the team would make it onto the first flight out of Singapore. The Bald Brothers made it, but it did not help them because the other three teams and the Bald Brothers were all on the same flight from Kuala Lumpur to Ho Chi Minh City (HMC).
The other three teams were on the same flight (at 6:00 a.m.) to Kuala Lumpur. Ian felt that Platonic's alliance with the Twins would bite Platonic in the butt at some point since Platonic seemed to be helping out the Twins more than vice versa. After the teams arrived in HMC, there was a problem in Customs. Apparently Flo picked one line and Zach chose another. Of course Flo was in line with the Twins. She got through the line very quickly and it took Zach several more minutes to get through his line. Zach didn't feel comfortable cutting in line (and probably wanted a few moments of peace by himself in the line). Well, he paid for that peace because he had to hear Flo cry, whine, and yell for the rest of the day because he didn't cut in line. Here was Flo's comment to Zach, "I don't work all day and all night to get screwed over something so stupid." I actually understood Flo's point, but her main problem is that she beats a point so hard and so repeatedly that even if she started out with a good point, you are just sick of it afterward. Future contestants of TAR need to understand that if they get upset with their partner, to have a brief argument over it and then let it go. The last thing you want to do is expend energy yelling at the person with whom you are trying to win lots of money.
Mekong Delta, Water Coconuts, and More Yelling
The Twins reached route marker first. The teams' next task was to get to the Mekong Delta – an enormous rural area (which may remind some viewers of the scenes of Florida Everglades in the first episode). The teams had to get to a particular town along the Delta and find a route marker, which was near the water and near a floating marketplace. Ian was shown riding in the cab looking at Vietnam and recalling how the country looked when he was last there, as a soldier during the Vietnam War. There were several moments of reflection for Ian in this episode.
Meanwhile, Flo continued to get upset with Zach. Zach said in a voiceover that if he loses his cool, it is over for his team. I think he was right about that. Unfortunately, he had to be the adult all the time. So Flo started crying saying Zach was trivializing everything!
The Bald Brothers arrived at the route marker first, the Twins and Married arrived about the same time about 15-20 minutes later according to my estimation. When Team Married was arriving at the Detour site, Ian decided to thank his taxi driver using Pidgin English, "number one taxi driva!" Ian really is offensive in every country he visits.
The teams' next tast was a Detour. A Detour is a choice between two tasks – each task with its own pros and cons. This Detour was Easy Buy or Hard Sell. In Easy buy, the teams had to take a small boat into the water marketplace and buy a water coconut. There were a lot of boats, so finding the correct boat may have taken a long time, but the teams were not required to negotiate price for the water coconut. In Hard Sell, teams had to choose a shoulder basket and sell the equivalent of $2.50 (40,000 dong) worth of fruit. The average for each piece of fruit is $.06 so it might take the teams awhile to sell the fruit.
Bald brothers, Twins, and Married decided to do Easy Buy. As the Bald Brothers were in the boat trying to find the water coconuts, it started to rain. The locals who were selling their own wares were laughing very hard at the Bald Brothers. It isn't clear to me why the Bald Brothers were so funny to them, but I did think it was funny that the TAR contestants inspired so much laughter in Vietnam (later in the episode, locals were shown laughing at Team Married). My best guess is that the contestants' accents were so poor when they were asking for things in Vietnamese that the inadvertently said something extremely funny.
The Bald Brothers were having a terrible time trying to find the water coconuts and the other marketplace sellers seemed to have no idea where to find the item. The Bald Brothers decided to go back and do Hard Sell. As they were heading back, they saw Married and Twins headed out to find the water coconuts. Ken and Gerard acted like they successfully completed the task so the others wouldn't turn back. Married were the first to find the water coconuts. Twins who were following closely behind Team Married were second in completing the Detour. It took them a bit of time, but the Bald Brothers finally sold their wares and were third in completing the Detour.
Getting Lost in Ho Chi Minh City
After teams finished the Detour, they had to go back to HMC (a trip of 70 miles) and find the route marker at 2A Ton Duc Thang at the edge of the Saigon River. Ian saw the next route marker, as the taxi was getting ready to pass it. So he told the driver to stop and he and Teri got out and read the next clue. The teams next task is a Road Block. One team member had to drive the bicycle taxi and transport the other team member to the Pit Stop. There is a marked course (indicated by several flags) that the teams had to follow including getting onto a ferry to go across the river. Teams needed to stash the bikes near the Pit Stop and run to end point: Café Thu Thiem.
The Twins cab stopped near the ferry, but this was quite a distance from the actual route marker. They were asking the locals where 2A was, but they couldn't find it. Ken and Gerard saw the flags, but they too couldn't locate the route marker box. So both teams of brothers were running around near the Saigon River looking for their route marker.
Flo and Zach found the clue without too much trouble and Zach performed the Road Block. When Flo and Zach were on the boat, they saw Ken and Gerard run to jump on the ferry. Platonic had been convinced that they were in last place, so it was a surprise to see Bald Brothers arrive. Both Flo and Zach gestured and yelled to Ken and Gerard that they needed to go all the way up the road and get the bicycle transportation before getting on the ferry. I believe that Platonic provided the directions because they were relieved they would not be eliminated – and they did not know that the Twins were also looking for the clue.
Ken and Gerard saw the Twins as they were leaving the ferry and told the Twins they didn't know where the clue was. Ken and Gerard lied to the Twins because they were worried about being eliminated. So they left the Twins at the dock while they ran up the street to get the clue. If I were in the Bald Brothers' position, I would have done the same thing. In addition, the Twins lied to Team Married about not finding the haystack a few episodes ago, so I guess it was payback. When Ken and Gerard started the Road Block, Gerard was the one pedaling Ken, and the bike tipped over and they had to right the bike again with all their belongings.
Derek and Drew jumped on the next ferry (after Zach and Flo) without the cyclone bike, but they somehow managed to get to the Pit Stop. I think the Twins followed the flags to the Pit Stop. When the Twins arrived at the Pit Stop, Phil told them they had not completed the Road Block and they had to go back.
When they reached the ferry again, they saw the Bald Brothers getting off the ferry. At that point, the Bald Brothers told the Twins exactly where the route marker box was. The Twins went back across the river, found the route marker, completed the Road Block, reached the Pit Stop, and were eliminated.
Here is the order that the teams arrived at the Pit Stop:
1. Team Married: Teri and Ian (they won a 7-night cruise in Europe)
2. Team Platonic: Flo and Zach
3. Team Bald Brothers: Gerard and Ken
4. Team Zoolander: Derek and Drew
Who do I think will win? It is difficult to say. I definitely want Gerard and Ken to win. As I said previously, I think they work together the best, have the best travel skill and I think they deserve it. However, I wish they would not change horses midstream during the Detour tasks. Perhaps in the final episode they will not do so.
After that, I don't really care who wins. Team Platonic is dysfunctional, and Team Married is just odious. If it is a race to the finish line between Platonic and Married, I think Platonic will win, but anything can happen.
The Amazing Race 3 finale will be on at 9:00 p.m. next week on CBS. It is a two-hour episode.
On the Internet: CBS.com | SirLinksalot.net
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