Recap, Episode 9: Mother and Daughter Commit Costly Error
Teams Say Goodbye to India The ninth leg of the race began in the grandiose Laxmi Niwas Palace in Bikaner, India. The five remaining Teams had already traveled 21,000 miles. At 4:50 p.m., fraternity brothers Kevin & Drew were the first to depart. They opened up their route envelope to discover that their next destination was the Temple of Dawn in Bangkok, 2000 miles away. In order to get there, Teams first had to travel three hundred miles from Bikaner to New Delhi. To make the trip, contestants had two transportation options: traveling by bus or by train. It was up to them to determine which mode of transportation was the quicker option. Any Team that properly researched the choices would discover that the slow-moving bus went directly to Delhi, whereas the fast-moving train traveled an indirect route that took longer. Once they arrived in New Delhi, the Teams would have to arrange their own flight to Bangkok. Kevin & Drew hopped in their taxi and headed off in search of the better transportation option. Frank & Margarita were next to leave. Just after them, Rob & Brennan departed. Rob explained that they were heading to the train station because they had already researched the schedules and knew they could make the next train. Frank & Margarita and Rob & Brennan arrived at the train station around the same time. They purchased tickets and boarded the train. Meanwhile, Kevin & Drew had figured out that the bus was quicker and headed to the bus terminal. They boarded the creaky old bus, much to Drew's chagrin. "This might have been a mistake…with the squeaking the whole way there! Shoot me. Shoot me now," he groaned. With the three leading Teams well on their way to New Delhi, the trailing Teams, Joe & Bill and Nancy & Emily, were just beginning the leg. They were also the only two Teams still eligible to win the Fast Forward pass, as all the other remaining teams had already claimed a Fast Forward pass earlier in the race. Nancy explained her and Emily's strategy, "This is do or die. She and I either find the Fast Forward or we're out of the game." Both Teams took taxis to the bus station. Joe explained that they were also going to go for the Fast Forward, fearing that if they didn't win it this time, they could conceivably lose the race. The bus arrived and the two Teams boarded it, well aware of the competition ahead of them. Emily warned that if "both of us go for it, it's going to be ugly… because they play dirty and I'm about to start playing dirty because I don't want to go yet." Kevin & Drew arrived at the New Delhi airport, immediately booked a flight and were the first Team out of India. Their plane departed just as the other four Teams were making their way to the airport. Since the bus ride was faster, Team Guido and Nancy & Emily caught up to Rob & Brennan and Frank & Margarita. The four Teams all struggled to get on flights. Joe & Bill were the next Team to get tickets and leave India, followed by Frank & Margarita. Rob & Brennan and Nancy & Emily, working together, were the final Teams to board planes. One Night in Bangkok Kevin & Drew were the first Team to arrive in Bangkok. Unfortunately for them, they just missed the operating hours at the Temple of Dawn and decided to check into a nearby hotel. This gave the other Teams enough time to catch up to the leaders. Joe & Bill made it to Bangkok next, followed by Frank & Margarita. Rob & Brennan and Nancy & Emily were last to land in Bangkok. Rob & Brennan decided to sleep outside the Temple of Dawn. Team Guido decided to scope out the Fast Forward location, the Reclining Buddha shrine. They arrived and decided to "camp out all night." Nancy & Emily showed up and debated whether to stay or head on to the Temple of Dawn. "I think we ought to go for it," Nancy said. She asked her daughter if she thought they could beat Team Guido. "I don't think we can," Emily responded. "Are you kidding? Do they ever lose at anything?" In the end, they resolved to stay and to fight it out. Wake Up Call in Bangkok The Teams rose early the next morning. A stray puppy playfully licked a sleeping Rob. "Wake up call in Bangkok," Rob smiled. ( Rob plays with a puppy ) Meanwhile, Kevin & Drew were approaching the location in a cab. "I'm starting to believe we're gonna get there and everyone's waiting," Kevin commented as they pulled up to the Temple of Dawn. His misgivings turned out to be well founded, as both Rob & Brennan and Frank & Margarita were already there. Precisely at 7 a.m., the Temple of Dawn opened. The three Teams rushed into the Temple grounds and raced up the steps to the route marker box. They ripped open their envelopes to discover that their next task was a Detour. A Detour is a fork in the road where Teams are given two distinct choices and must select one of them. In this instance, the Detour involved modes of transportation. Teams were given two options to get to the town of Kanchanaburi: private car or slow-moving public bus. The free private car was located somewhere in the neighborhood. The catch was that Teams were given a specific license plate number and had to match it to an individual car. Frank & Margarita and Kevin & Drew both ran off in search of their private car. Frank & Margarita found theirs fairly quickly, whereas the fraternity brothers struggled to find their car. They became increasingly more frustrated with the search. Concerned, Kevin told his teammate, "We can't keep walking in and around these little streets. We'll be here all day." Rob & Brennan decided not to waste much time in search of the private car, so they headed down to Kanchanaburi on a bus. Racing for Luck at the Reclining Buddha Meanwhile, over at the Reclining Buddha, Nancy & Emily and Joe & Bill were ready to begin the competition for the Fast Forward. To win it, Teams had to play a traditional game of luck. In the Reclining Buddha shrine, there is a row of 108 urns. Competing Teams had to choose a bowl from a table and drop one coin in each successive urn. The Team selecting the bowl of coins with exactly 108 coins in it would receive the Fast Forward. This winning Team would win luck and be able to proceed directly to the Pit Stop. The losing Team would have to head back to The Temple of Dawn and attempt to catch up to the other Teams. The race began and the two Teams each picked a bowl and rushed down the row of urns, carefully dropping a coin in each one. Neither Team selected the correct bowl and had to return to the table to select another bowl. They raced back and forth several times, trying to pick the lucky bowl. Finally, Joe & Bill selected the winning bowl. They diligently walked down the row of urns until they dropped their last coin into the last urn. Team Guido had won the Fast Forward! Emily & Nancy graciously congratulated Joe & Bill and then proceeded to the Temple of Dawn. "Hopefully, we'll have a chance to catch up. That's our goal," Emily said as they took a ferry across to the Detour location. Team Guido, on the other hand, were now able to head directly to the Pit Stop at Tiger Cave Temple in Krabi. Two Serious Errors At the Temple of Dawn, Kevin & Drew were having their own set of problems. They had spent nearly two hours looking for their private car and were getting frustrated. They argued about going back to the Temple and performing the bus detour option instead. Drew commented, "All I know is whoever doesn't get the Fast Forward will be here any minute." Nancy & Emily arrived at the Temple of Dawn and received the Detour route marker. They decided to try to find the private car and began looking around. They struggled in their attempt to locate their car. Meanwhile, Kevin & Drew decided to take the bus detour and headed on to the bus depot. Winning the Fast Forward allowed Joe & Bill to skip all remaining tasks and head directly to the Pit Stop, located 500 miles away. Team Guido headed over to the bus station, where they ran into Kevin & Drew and told them they won the Fast Forward. After they got on their bus to Kanchanaburi, Kevin remarked, "I can't believe that those two idiots got it." Realizing the game was getting down to the wire, he added, "this next elimination from the final four is gonna be the brawl for it all." Team Guido felt comfortable with their position. They guessed that the other Teams would have to perform several tasks in the south of Thailand and they'd have plenty of time. Joe & Bill asked around and were told the next bus to Krabi didn't leave until 7:30 that evening. They asked about taking a taxi, but were informed it would be very expensive. Since they felt they were clearly in the lead, they decided to save money and take the evening bus. With eight hours to kill, they checked into a Bangkok hotel to relax. Nancy & Emily were still struggling to find the private car. "Something's not right," Nancy told her daughter. They asked several people on the street for assistance, but got no solid leads. Then they realized that they were looking on the perimeter of the neighborhood for the private car, instead of within it. Still, nothing seemed to be working. Tired, dirty and frustrated, Nancy wanted to "throw in the towel" and just grab a taxi. But Emily didn't want to "go out like that." However, after searching for several hours, exhaustion got the better of them. They decided not to complete the Detour and instead take a taxi--rather than the required bus or a private car located somewhere in the neighborhood--all the way to Kanchanaburi. Tiger Pits Frank & Margarita were first to arrive at the Route Marker near the town of Kanchanaburi. They opened the envelope to find themselves faced with a Roadblock challenge. A Roadblock is a task that only one Team member can perform. In this instance, the challenge seemed simple: retrieve your next set of instructions from a clay pot. The difficulty was the fact that this clay pot was located at the far end of a pit of tigers. Frank decided to perform this Roadblock. He walked down into the tiger pit and made his way through the gauntlet of tigers. He reached the far end of the valley and snagged the next envelope from the clay pot. On his way back to Margarita, one tiger playfully took a swipe at his leg. Smiling, Frank recounted, "I just got swatted by a tiger." He told Margarita they were now to head to the Pit Stop at the Tiger Cave Temple in Krabi. Next to arrive were Rob & Brennan. "It's my turn," Rob announced. He nonchalantly made his way through the tiger throng, grabbed the envelope and returned to his partner. Meanwhile, Frank & Margarita were debating their transportation options. "You can't take a taxi this far," Frank told her. Rob & Brennan, however, decided "not to mess around with it" and grabbed a taxi. Eventually, Frank & Margarita also took a taxi. Kevin & Drew were the third Team to find the Roadblock. They read the first part of the clue. "The one who does this should be a cat lover. That's not you!" Drew laughed. He immediately volunteered to do the task and headed into the valley. "I feel like Siegfried and Roy!" Drew joked as he made his way through the tigers. The last Team to arrive was Nancy & Emily. "Oh, my gosh," Emily said as she saw the first tiger. She cautiously made her way through the tigers, got the clue and returned to her mother. They hopped back into their cab. "It ain't over 'till the fat lady sings. Better start practicing," Nancy joked. The Fat Lady Sings All Teams were now heading to the Pit Stop. In the lead were Frank & Margarita and Rob & Brennan. In the middle were Kevin & Drew. Running behind were Nancy & Emily and Joe & Bill, who were on an eleven-hour bus ride to Krabi. Their spirits, though, were high. They had no idea who would be the last Team to arrive in Krabi. Rob & Brennan were first to arrive at the temple. As they approached the clock-in mat, Brennan noted, "No one's here telling us we're eliminated, so I think we're okay." They were more than "okay" when they found out that they'd clocked in first. Next to show up were Frank & Margarita. They were stunned that the Fast Forward Team hadn't yet arrived. Behind them, Kevin & Drew arrived. Later, Nancy & Emily made it. They arrived at the Pit Stop to hugs from the other Teams. "We messed up," Nancy told them. Emily added that they never thought that Team Guido would "mess up." It was dawn when Joe & Bill made their way up the temple's stairs. "Uh-oh. There are a lot of shoes here," Bill noticed, referring to their competitor's familiar footwear. They entered the temple and were told to meet with host Phil Keoghan. Phil told them that they were the last Team to arrive, but because Nancy & Emily made a conscious decision not to do the required Detour task, they would receive a twenty-four hour penalty, required by the rules for any decision to skip a task, and therefore, would be eliminated from the race. Nancy & Emily never thought that they could, in fact, have beaten Team Guido had they not "thrown in the towel." Ultimately, Team Guido did benefit from the luck they won at the Reclining Buddha shrine. Nancy & Emily fought back tears as they received the news. Later, looking back on the experience, Emily reflected, "I don't think anyone took us seriously from day one. So we did a lot better than we thought we would. We're proud of ourselves. It's been a really great opportunity for me and my mom. We haven't always been so close, but I think it's opened a whole new door in our relationship." Nancy added to that thought, "At this moment in time, even though we have just been eliminated, I feel like the luckiest mother in the world." At the Tiger Cave Temple in Krabi, Thailand, after a grueling leg filled with twists and turns, Nancy & Emily became the seventh Team eliminated from THE AMAZING RACE.http://www.cbs.com/primetime/amazing_race/show/week09/story01.shtml
Teams Say Goodbye to India The ninth leg of the race began in the grandiose Laxmi Niwas Palace in Bikaner, India. The five remaining Teams had already traveled 21,000 miles. At 4:50 p.m., fraternity brothers Kevin & Drew were the first to depart. They opened up their route envelope to discover that their next destination was the Temple of Dawn in Bangkok, 2000 miles away. In order to get there, Teams first had to travel three hundred miles from Bikaner to New Delhi. To make the trip, contestants had two transportation options: traveling by bus or by train. It was up to them to determine which mode of transportation was the quicker option. Any Team that properly researched the choices would discover that the slow-moving bus went directly to Delhi, whereas the fast-moving train traveled an indirect route that took longer. Once they arrived in New Delhi, the Teams would have to arrange their own flight to Bangkok. Kevin & Drew hopped in their taxi and headed off in search of the better transportation option. Frank & Margarita were next to leave. Just after them, Rob & Brennan departed. Rob explained that they were heading to the train station because they had already researched the schedules and knew they could make the next train. Frank & Margarita and Rob & Brennan arrived at the train station around the same time. They purchased tickets and boarded the train. Meanwhile, Kevin & Drew had figured out that the bus was quicker and headed to the bus terminal. They boarded the creaky old bus, much to Drew's chagrin. "This might have been a mistake…with the squeaking the whole way there! Shoot me. Shoot me now," he groaned. With the three leading Teams well on their way to New Delhi, the trailing Teams, Joe & Bill and Nancy & Emily, were just beginning the leg. They were also the only two Teams still eligible to win the Fast Forward pass, as all the other remaining teams had already claimed a Fast Forward pass earlier in the race. Nancy explained her and Emily's strategy, "This is do or die. She and I either find the Fast Forward or we're out of the game." Both Teams took taxis to the bus station. Joe explained that they were also going to go for the Fast Forward, fearing that if they didn't win it this time, they could conceivably lose the race. The bus arrived and the two Teams boarded it, well aware of the competition ahead of them. Emily warned that if "both of us go for it, it's going to be ugly… because they play dirty and I'm about to start playing dirty because I don't want to go yet." Kevin & Drew arrived at the New Delhi airport, immediately booked a flight and were the first Team out of India. Their plane departed just as the other four Teams were making their way to the airport. Since the bus ride was faster, Team Guido and Nancy & Emily caught up to Rob & Brennan and Frank & Margarita. The four Teams all struggled to get on flights. Joe & Bill were the next Team to get tickets and leave India, followed by Frank & Margarita. Rob & Brennan and Nancy & Emily, working together, were the final Teams to board planes. One Night in Bangkok Kevin & Drew were the first Team to arrive in Bangkok. Unfortunately for them, they just missed the operating hours at the Temple of Dawn and decided to check into a nearby hotel. This gave the other Teams enough time to catch up to the leaders. Joe & Bill made it to Bangkok next, followed by Frank & Margarita. Rob & Brennan and Nancy & Emily were last to land in Bangkok. Rob & Brennan decided to sleep outside the Temple of Dawn. Team Guido decided to scope out the Fast Forward location, the Reclining Buddha shrine. They arrived and decided to "camp out all night." Nancy & Emily showed up and debated whether to stay or head on to the Temple of Dawn. "I think we ought to go for it," Nancy said. She asked her daughter if she thought they could beat Team Guido. "I don't think we can," Emily responded. "Are you kidding? Do they ever lose at anything?" In the end, they resolved to stay and to fight it out. Wake Up Call in Bangkok The Teams rose early the next morning. A stray puppy playfully licked a sleeping Rob. "Wake up call in Bangkok," Rob smiled. ( Rob plays with a puppy ) Meanwhile, Kevin & Drew were approaching the location in a cab. "I'm starting to believe we're gonna get there and everyone's waiting," Kevin commented as they pulled up to the Temple of Dawn. His misgivings turned out to be well founded, as both Rob & Brennan and Frank & Margarita were already there. Precisely at 7 a.m., the Temple of Dawn opened. The three Teams rushed into the Temple grounds and raced up the steps to the route marker box. They ripped open their envelopes to discover that their next task was a Detour. A Detour is a fork in the road where Teams are given two distinct choices and must select one of them. In this instance, the Detour involved modes of transportation. Teams were given two options to get to the town of Kanchanaburi: private car or slow-moving public bus. The free private car was located somewhere in the neighborhood. The catch was that Teams were given a specific license plate number and had to match it to an individual car. Frank & Margarita and Kevin & Drew both ran off in search of their private car. Frank & Margarita found theirs fairly quickly, whereas the fraternity brothers struggled to find their car. They became increasingly more frustrated with the search. Concerned, Kevin told his teammate, "We can't keep walking in and around these little streets. We'll be here all day." Rob & Brennan decided not to waste much time in search of the private car, so they headed down to Kanchanaburi on a bus. Racing for Luck at the Reclining Buddha Meanwhile, over at the Reclining Buddha, Nancy & Emily and Joe & Bill were ready to begin the competition for the Fast Forward. To win it, Teams had to play a traditional game of luck. In the Reclining Buddha shrine, there is a row of 108 urns. Competing Teams had to choose a bowl from a table and drop one coin in each successive urn. The Team selecting the bowl of coins with exactly 108 coins in it would receive the Fast Forward. This winning Team would win luck and be able to proceed directly to the Pit Stop. The losing Team would have to head back to The Temple of Dawn and attempt to catch up to the other Teams. The race began and the two Teams each picked a bowl and rushed down the row of urns, carefully dropping a coin in each one. Neither Team selected the correct bowl and had to return to the table to select another bowl. They raced back and forth several times, trying to pick the lucky bowl. Finally, Joe & Bill selected the winning bowl. They diligently walked down the row of urns until they dropped their last coin into the last urn. Team Guido had won the Fast Forward! Emily & Nancy graciously congratulated Joe & Bill and then proceeded to the Temple of Dawn. "Hopefully, we'll have a chance to catch up. That's our goal," Emily said as they took a ferry across to the Detour location. Team Guido, on the other hand, were now able to head directly to the Pit Stop at Tiger Cave Temple in Krabi. Two Serious Errors At the Temple of Dawn, Kevin & Drew were having their own set of problems. They had spent nearly two hours looking for their private car and were getting frustrated. They argued about going back to the Temple and performing the bus detour option instead. Drew commented, "All I know is whoever doesn't get the Fast Forward will be here any minute." Nancy & Emily arrived at the Temple of Dawn and received the Detour route marker. They decided to try to find the private car and began looking around. They struggled in their attempt to locate their car. Meanwhile, Kevin & Drew decided to take the bus detour and headed on to the bus depot. Winning the Fast Forward allowed Joe & Bill to skip all remaining tasks and head directly to the Pit Stop, located 500 miles away. Team Guido headed over to the bus station, where they ran into Kevin & Drew and told them they won the Fast Forward. After they got on their bus to Kanchanaburi, Kevin remarked, "I can't believe that those two idiots got it." Realizing the game was getting down to the wire, he added, "this next elimination from the final four is gonna be the brawl for it all." Team Guido felt comfortable with their position. They guessed that the other Teams would have to perform several tasks in the south of Thailand and they'd have plenty of time. Joe & Bill asked around and were told the next bus to Krabi didn't leave until 7:30 that evening. They asked about taking a taxi, but were informed it would be very expensive. Since they felt they were clearly in the lead, they decided to save money and take the evening bus. With eight hours to kill, they checked into a Bangkok hotel to relax. Nancy & Emily were still struggling to find the private car. "Something's not right," Nancy told her daughter. They asked several people on the street for assistance, but got no solid leads. Then they realized that they were looking on the perimeter of the neighborhood for the private car, instead of within it. Still, nothing seemed to be working. Tired, dirty and frustrated, Nancy wanted to "throw in the towel" and just grab a taxi. But Emily didn't want to "go out like that." However, after searching for several hours, exhaustion got the better of them. They decided not to complete the Detour and instead take a taxi--rather than the required bus or a private car located somewhere in the neighborhood--all the way to Kanchanaburi. Tiger Pits Frank & Margarita were first to arrive at the Route Marker near the town of Kanchanaburi. They opened the envelope to find themselves faced with a Roadblock challenge. A Roadblock is a task that only one Team member can perform. In this instance, the challenge seemed simple: retrieve your next set of instructions from a clay pot. The difficulty was the fact that this clay pot was located at the far end of a pit of tigers. Frank decided to perform this Roadblock. He walked down into the tiger pit and made his way through the gauntlet of tigers. He reached the far end of the valley and snagged the next envelope from the clay pot. On his way back to Margarita, one tiger playfully took a swipe at his leg. Smiling, Frank recounted, "I just got swatted by a tiger." He told Margarita they were now to head to the Pit Stop at the Tiger Cave Temple in Krabi. Next to arrive were Rob & Brennan. "It's my turn," Rob announced. He nonchalantly made his way through the tiger throng, grabbed the envelope and returned to his partner. Meanwhile, Frank & Margarita were debating their transportation options. "You can't take a taxi this far," Frank told her. Rob & Brennan, however, decided "not to mess around with it" and grabbed a taxi. Eventually, Frank & Margarita also took a taxi. Kevin & Drew were the third Team to find the Roadblock. They read the first part of the clue. "The one who does this should be a cat lover. That's not you!" Drew laughed. He immediately volunteered to do the task and headed into the valley. "I feel like Siegfried and Roy!" Drew joked as he made his way through the tigers. The last Team to arrive was Nancy & Emily. "Oh, my gosh," Emily said as she saw the first tiger. She cautiously made her way through the tigers, got the clue and returned to her mother. They hopped back into their cab. "It ain't over 'till the fat lady sings. Better start practicing," Nancy joked. The Fat Lady Sings All Teams were now heading to the Pit Stop. In the lead were Frank & Margarita and Rob & Brennan. In the middle were Kevin & Drew. Running behind were Nancy & Emily and Joe & Bill, who were on an eleven-hour bus ride to Krabi. Their spirits, though, were high. They had no idea who would be the last Team to arrive in Krabi. Rob & Brennan were first to arrive at the temple. As they approached the clock-in mat, Brennan noted, "No one's here telling us we're eliminated, so I think we're okay." They were more than "okay" when they found out that they'd clocked in first. Next to show up were Frank & Margarita. They were stunned that the Fast Forward Team hadn't yet arrived. Behind them, Kevin & Drew arrived. Later, Nancy & Emily made it. They arrived at the Pit Stop to hugs from the other Teams. "We messed up," Nancy told them. Emily added that they never thought that Team Guido would "mess up." It was dawn when Joe & Bill made their way up the temple's stairs. "Uh-oh. There are a lot of shoes here," Bill noticed, referring to their competitor's familiar footwear. They entered the temple and were told to meet with host Phil Keoghan. Phil told them that they were the last Team to arrive, but because Nancy & Emily made a conscious decision not to do the required Detour task, they would receive a twenty-four hour penalty, required by the rules for any decision to skip a task, and therefore, would be eliminated from the race. Nancy & Emily never thought that they could, in fact, have beaten Team Guido had they not "thrown in the towel." Ultimately, Team Guido did benefit from the luck they won at the Reclining Buddha shrine. Nancy & Emily fought back tears as they received the news. Later, looking back on the experience, Emily reflected, "I don't think anyone took us seriously from day one. So we did a lot better than we thought we would. We're proud of ourselves. It's been a really great opportunity for me and my mom. We haven't always been so close, but I think it's opened a whole new door in our relationship." Nancy added to that thought, "At this moment in time, even though we have just been eliminated, I feel like the luckiest mother in the world." At the Tiger Cave Temple in Krabi, Thailand, after a grueling leg filled with twists and turns, Nancy & Emily became the seventh Team eliminated from THE AMAZING RACE.