The Amazing Race 4, Episode 10: Does ANYONE Speak English?by Phil Kural -- 08/01/2003
Last week on The Amazing Race, five teams left an island in Malaysia and headed to a nature resort located in Borneo. Millie & Chuck lost most of their lead because of poor map-reading skills on Millieís part. Reichen & Chip claimed the Fast Forward, sending Kelly & Jon into a downward spiral thinking they were done for. When all was said and done, though, they got it together and caught up to the very fatigued Millie & Chuck. After going head-to-head with one another at the Roadblock and an all-out road race to the pit stop, Jon & Kelly checked in fourth and Millie & Chuck were eliminated. Who will be eliminated next? The suspense is killing me! Letís see who is left and the order they will leave the pit stop:
Reichen & Chip Ė Married gay couple/Sentimental favorites
We begin this week where we left off last week, in Borneo, a mysterious island of plants and wildlife. Located on Borneo is Sepilok Nature Resort. This is the ninth pit stop in a race around the world, where the teams rest for 12 hours as they wait for the next leg of the Race to begin. Will Reichen & Chip maintain their lead? Will the all-male teams overwhelm Kelly & Jon, the only coed team left in the Race? Iím curious to seeÖ
Reichen & Chip are the first to depart at 10:26 p.m. Their clue tells them to make their way to a Buddhist temple located on the island. Once there, they must search through the Buddha glasses and find the one with their names on it. Once they find it, there will be a key inside that will open up a rattan bag that will have their next clue it. Reichen says that they realize they need to watch their backs at this stage in the Race. They quickly get to the temple and begin to search through the glasses. They find the one with their name on it and open the bag. Their clue tells them to fly to Seoul, South Korea. Once there, they must get to the Seoul Tower and find the route marker there. Vans will be headed to the airport every half hour starting at midnight, and can only take one team at a time. Reichen & Chip hang loose for about 45 minutes until the first van gets there. Reichen says a prayer for the rest of the Race. He is feeling spiritual. At midnight, the first van gets there and they are on their way to the airport.
The Clowns depart next at 12:56 a.m. Al says their friendship has brought them closer than ever and they are 100% ready for this leg of the Race. At 1:11 a.m., the Goats leave. Jeff says they always try to look at themselves as underdogs and that makes them work harder and faster. A bit too fast sometimes, wouldnít you say, Jeff? I mean, you two rush so much that sometimes you pass right by the route markers and donít see the flags! At this point, the Clowns get to the temple and get their key. Shortly after, the Goats get their key as well. The Clowns are the first to get the van to the airport as the Goats see them off. At 2:42 a.m., the last team, Jon & Kelly, depart. Kelly says she is going to give the boys a run for their money. The Goats get in the van and head to the airport. Kelly and Jon get to the temple and Kelly finds their Buddha glass rather quickly. They read the clue and head for the van. Both say they are in high gear and Kelly says the ďWrath of Kelly is fixiní to come out.Ē Jon notes that it will probably be directed toward him, as usual.
Reichen & Chip are the first to the airport and book a flight to Seoul via Singapore. The Clowns and Goats arrive at the airport not far behind. The guy at the counter tells The Goats and the Clowns what flight Reichen & Chip are on. Kelly & Jon arrive at the airport, and it turns out all four teams are on the same flight. In Singapore, the Goats and Clowns both scurry around to see if they can get an earlier flight out of there. The Goats find another flight that will arrive an hour ahead of the others, but have to book standby tickets. The Clowns find the same flight and book standby as well. The Goats get frustrated when they find out they were not put on standby, only given tickets. In the end, though, they and the Clowns both get on the flight. Their plane will arrive in Seoul an hour before the flight that Kelly & Jon and Reichen & Chip are taking, unbeknownst to Kelly & Jon and Reichen & Chip.
Right off the plane in South Korea, the first two teams are having problems. It doesnít seem that any of the cab drivers know how to speak English. Both teams are getting frustrated as they finally get into cabs and follow one another to get the clue. Once they get it, they are told to make their way to Sundam Valley, minutes away from the North Korea border. The Clowns and Goats decide to split a taxi because it is somewhat expensive.
Not long after, the other two teams arrive in South Korea. They both get taxis and head off to get the clue. Reichen & Chip are having a tough time with getting directions because their driver doesnít understand them. Jon & Kelly get their clue first with Reichen & Chip right behind them. As Kelly & Jon head off, Reichen & Chipís driver doesnít understand where they want to go, so they end up telling him to take them to a hotel where they can get a driver that will understand them. They wait a good while at a hotel to get an English-speaking driver, but finally head off.
The Goats and Clowns realize they are lost when they see their driver get out and ask for directions. Reichen & Chip's driver knows exactly where heís going and has his hazard lights on so that he can go through stop signs and red lights because itís an ďemergency.Ē The Goats and Clowns are near the North Korean border and see a fleet of tanks on the street along with some soldiers. They begin to worry and tell their driver to turn around. Kelly and Jon are near the next route marker, as are Reichen & Chip, thanks to their speedy driver. Kelly & Jon pass the Goats and Clowns, who see them and start to follow. Reichen & Chip arrive at the Sundam Valley first and canít believe it. Jon & Kelly are second. Chip notes that the Goats and Clowns have formed a small alliance as he sees them get out of the same cab. He also states that he would rather see one of them get eliminated next because he thinks theyíre stronger competition than Kelly & Jon.
The teams open the clues and find itís a Roadblock. Who has a colder personality? In this Roadblock, one person from each team must get in the frigid water and fight the current as they swim under the ice to the other side. When their body temperature is at a safe level, they can proceed. Iím sorry, but this looks way too cold! I know I would never be able to do it! Chip chooses to do it for his team and is up first. He jumps in and swims to the other side rather quickly. He takes some time to warm up and gets their clue. They must make their way to the next route marker located in Subway Station 228 in Seoul. This is a very crowded station. Jon is next (from Jon & Kelly) and quickly finishes as well. They get their clue and ride off to the next route marker. Jeff goes for his team and says its rough watching two teams go before you. He jumps in the water and swims like a fish to the other side, noting that the bitter cold water can be disorienting. He has a bit of trouble getting his body temperature back up, but after a few minutes heís fine and the Goats head out. Al goes for the Clowns and says he felt like his toes were going to fall off. He finishes and Jon says that Al is an amazing guy.
Since the Goats shared a cab with the Clowns, they have to wait around. Jeff says they have to get separate cabs because this is about survival. The clowns head out, not sure if the Goats took their cab. They get to the top of the hill and see they waited. They all get in the taxi and head off. The Goats lose some time when they jump out of the cab at an intersection and get one for themselves, but it doesnít really wind up mattering because all the teams are stuck in traffic. The Clowns decide it would be easier just to jump on the subway. The Goats and Reichen & Chip are having the same idea. Kelly has that idea as well, but Jon isnít too keen on it. They start to get snippy with each other. All teams wind up getting on the subway except Jon & Kelly. Kelly says Jon is being an a**hole and she is engaged to the a**hole. I love you, Kelly. The Goats end up getting on the wrong train and get off the subway and catch another cab. Reichen & Chip find the correct stop at the same time Kelly & Jon arrive. Kelly & Jon find the route marker first. I guess Jon was right again - the cab was the way to go!
Detour! Strong Hands or Strong Stomach? In Strong Hands, teams must follow a map to a Tae Kwan Doe martial arts center. Once there, each team member must break 3 piles of boards. Itís a daunting task, but may prove easy if teams listen to their instructors. In Strong Stomach, each team member must eat a local delicacy. The catch: itís live octopus. No skill is required, but teams will only finish as fast as their stomachs will allow. Kelly & Jon immediately choose Hands because Kelly says itís probably something gross that she wonít eat. Reichen & Chip find the Detour and choose Stomach as itís closer. They ask a local where the shop is and she leads them to it. They walk in and see the live octopus in a bowl. It is taken in the back, chopped up, and put in front of them. Kelly & Jon find the dojo. Looks like the Goats are lost at this point because their driver doesnít understand a word they are saying.
Reichen & Chip are having problems eating the octopus. Reichen wants to vomit, saying the octopusí tentacles are suctioning onto their teeth, making them impossible to swallow. They wait for them to die on the plate. Chipís eyes are bloodshot. He doesnít look happy. Back at the dojo, Jon breaks all his boards. Doesnít look that hard until Kelly steps up. Jon tries to coach her, but she is having problems. Not as much as Reichen is having, though. He still canít swallow the octopus. Chip comes up with the idea of putting it in glasses of water they can gulp down as ďshots,Ē much like the oyster shots at their wedding. This seems to work. Kelly says she knows she canít go eat whatever disgusting food they have prepared for them, so she has to break the boards. Jon says she is tough. Kelly hits the boards and winds up with bloody knuckles. Jon tells her to act like she is hitting his face and when she does that, all the boards break! I love it!! They finish the Detour and get their clue. It tells them to make their way to the pit stop, Gyeongbokgung Palace. They get in a taxi and head off.
The Clowns get to the Detour and choose Hands. With much encouragement from Chip, Reichen finally finishes the octopus and he & Chip head off to the pit stop. The Goats are the last to the Detour and choose Stomach. The Clowns get to the dojo and break the boards very fast. The Goats get to the Stomach Detour, see the octopus, and arenít too sure about this one. They take a few bites and decide to switch to Hands. Al finishes up for the Clowns and they head for the pit stop. The Goats get to the dojo after the Clowns leave, break the boards, and head to the pit stop as well.
Kelly and Jonís taxi driver is confused. Reichen & Chip fume that their driver is a wimp and wonít pass anyone. Kelly & Jon and Reichen & Chip are both in the correct area and are looking for the flags. Kelly and Jon have a tough time navigating around the Palace but get to the pit stop first. Iím loving this so much! They are team number one and their joy is more than apparent. Kelly says they are ďnumber one virgins.Ē Jon says that Kelly kicked the other guy teamsíasses. Reichen & Chip are not far behind and check in as team number two. They both seem pretty happy.
The Clowns seem to be stuck in traffic while the Goats are moving at a good pace. However, the Clowns get to the Palace first and are team number three. They are still as happy as ever. The Goats run up to the mat and find out they are in last place. However, the good news is that this is the second of three non-elimination legs. Phil asks them if they are happy and Dave says that they will never quit. What is up with Philís heavy jacket? You would think they were in Alaska or something! Dave says there is no other option from here on out but to kick ass and win.
Next week, tensions rise as the teams battle to be in the final three. Kelly drops face first into her worst nightmare, and Reichen may be sleeping with the fish as a shark creeps up behind him.
I have to say that for a non-elimination round, this was one of the most intense episodes so far this season. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, but that may have something to do with finally getting to see Kelly & Jon come in first place. They won a trip too! Itís about time; they deserve it for all the bickering they do. I swear, it holds them together. Oh well. Next week, Iím betting itís the Goats that go. Why do I say that? Well, because I predicted the other three to be the last teams left. Am I psychic? We will find out!
Phil Kural is a senior at Temple University, and can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org.
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