The Amazing Race: January 2008 Archives

After a short recap of the last episode and a snippet about the remaining three teams, the finale of The Amazing Race truly began. Which of the three teams would win the million dollars? Would it be Ron & Christina, TK & Rachel, or Nicolas & Donald?

Ron & Christina were the first team to leave the last pit stop in Taipei at 9:47 AM. Opening the clue, they found out that teams would now have to fly more than 4,500 miles to their final destination of Anchorage, Alaska. When they land, they would make their way to 6th Avenue Outfitters and pick up the necessary gear for their journey ahead as well as their next clue. Teams would have $392 for this leg of the race. Ron & Christina raced off to find a taxi to make their way to the airport.

TK & Rachel began this leg of the race at 10:30 AM while Nicolas & Donald left right on their heels at 10:37 AM. Ron & Christina were the first ones at the airport and bought tickets for the only flight to Anchorage as well as tickets to get access to the lounge at the airport which had internet access. When TK & Rachel and Nicolas & Donald arrived at the airport, they were able to buy tickets for that same flight but began getting a little jittery when they couldn't find Ron & Christina anywhere. After Ron & Christina had finished using their internet time to get information on 6th Avenue Outfitters, they joined the other teams where they were waiting and all of the teams took off on the plane together.

Ron & Christina were the first team off the plane in Anchorage with TK & Rachel behind them and Nicolas & Donald bringing up the rear. All of the teams ran for taxis and began making their way to the gear store. Ron & Christina were the first ones there and grabbed their gear and the clue. Teams would now have to make their way to the waterfront and find the Ship Creek Boat Launch for the next clue. After Ron & Christina were off in their taxi, TK & Rachel arrived for their gear and clue as did Nicolas & Donald. The problem for Nicolas & Donald? They only grabbed one bag of their gear and missed the second bag. Oh no!

At the boat launch, Ron & Christina received their clue. It was a Detour and teams would be having to choose between Cut The Cod or Grab The Crab. In Cut The Cod, teams would have to fillet 50-pound lean cod and search for a miniature clue hidden inside one of the several fish. In Grab The Crab, teams would have to jump into the hold of a boat that contained over 500 live crabs and then search through them until they found the one crab marked with the race colors.

Ron & Christina chose to do Cod. He thought they'd be smaller fish and was really shocked when he found out how big they were. Also, only one member from each team could use the fillet knife so that left Christina digging through the innards for the clue. Meanwhile, TK & Rachel's taxi driver had dropped them off five miles away from where they should have been so they had to find another taxi to finish getting to the boat launch. Christina found the clue in a cod and it told them that teams would now have to travel 60 miles by taxi to a boat landing. They would then take a high-speed boat ride to 20-Mile Glacier for their next clue.

As Ron & Christina were on their way to the glacier, both TK & Rachel and Nicolas & Don passed them going the other way on the highway so they knew they had a chance to catch up. Once at the boat landing, Nicolas & Don finally realized they didn't have their second bag and and had to leave and go back to the store and get it. TK & Rachel received the Detour and chose to do Crab. In the cab on the way back, Don was getting on to Nicolas for not reading the clue correctly but Nicolas was just brushing him off. Luckily for them though, they were able to get their bag and get back to the Detour to find TK & Rachel still working on the Crab task. Whew!

Nicolas & Don chose to do Cod and went straight to work. Right before TK & Rachel decided to switch and do the Cod task themselves, TK found the crab with the color band on it and they ran to grab a taxi. As Don was whipping through the cod, he found the clue so they ran to a taxi as well. They think TK & Rachel are only 3-4 minutes ahead of them while TK & Rachel think Christina & Ron are 20-25 minutes in front of them. It seems to be a fairly close race!

Ron & Christina arrived at the boat launch first and jumped on a red boat for their fast-paced ride to the glacier. After some difficulty with their taxi driver, TK & Rachel arrived at the boat launch and took off on their boat with Nicolas & Don right behind them. All three teams really enjoyed the ride (I know I would have!) but Ronald's thrill was over once they arrived at the glacier. It was then that they found out they'd have to climb the side of the glacier before receiving the next clue which was waiting on top for them. After having some difficulty at first, Ron got the hang of it and was up top before too long. Christina was the one that was really getting frustrated but eventually joined her father at the top and received their clue.

Teams would now take a helicopter ride across the Alaskan wilderness to Merrill Field. Once they landed, they would travel by taxi to Goose Lake Park where they would find their next clue. Ron & Christina had a great time in the helicopter ride as TK & Rachel easily made it to the top of the glacier and grabbed their clue. Nicolas & Don didn't have too hard of a time on the glacier either and soon all of the teams were up in the air over the breathtaking view.

Ron & Christina landed first at Merrill Field and quickly found a taxi that took them to the park where they found the next clue was the final Road Block of the race. Who wants to relive their experience on the race? Each team would be given 15 recognizable items from different legs of the race. They must place on the stage 10 specific items that match 2 different requirements. First, there can only be one item from each of the 10 prior legs of the race. Secondly, of those 10 items, 3 must be animals or animal byproducts, 1 must be a U-Turn, 2 must be objects either at or brought to a Pit Stop, 2 must be items of transportation with wheels (1 of which was used at a Detour and 1 that was an item resembling the shape of a stick). Phil told us that there would be several ways to fulfill either requirement but there was only one way to fulfill both. Once the correct 10 items were on the stage, they would have to say they were done and if they were correct the clue box would open automatically for them. (Wow! This sounds like a really hard Road Block!)

Christina chooses to do the Road Block and quickly gets to work. TK & Rachel were the next team to arrive at the Road Block and Rachel chose to do it. Nicolas & Donald were the last team there and Nicolas decided to do this one. All three of them were having a hard time trying to get the correct items on the stage. Christina was the first to say that she was done but she had the item for Ireland wrong and went to work figuring out what she was missing. Rachel and Nicolas then said they were done but they had several things wrong with their items. You could feel the tension their three teammates were experiencing through the television just waiting for their "other" to finish first.

Christina started freaking out and praying to God for help while Nicolas was just plain stumped. Rachel concentrated on staying calm and tried her items one more time. The clue box opened! She grabbed the clue and ran to TK as they read it together. Teams would now have to travel by taxi to find Cook's eye view of the sleeping lady for their next clue. Phil told us the teams would have to figure out their clue meant for them to go to the Captain Cook Statue. They told the taxi driver what they were trying to find and the taxi driver knows exactly where it is and they take off.

Christina was the second one to finish the Road Block and she whooped and hollered on her way back to her waiting father. It was at that point, your heart had to break a little bit because Don looked so dejected that Nicolas still hadn't finished. Ron & Christina's taxi driver also knew exactly where they needed to go and they took off. Even though TK & Rachel's taxi driver got confused and had to turn around, they were still the first team at the statue for the clue.

Teams would now have to travel by foot into downtown Anchorage and find the statue of the Salmon Hooker (what an interesting fish!) where they'll find their next clue. As Ron & Christina were finding the hooker clue, TK & Rachel found the clue at the fishy statue that said, "This is it!!! Take a taxi to Girdwood Airport and run to the Finish Line. Hurry!!! GO, GO, GO!!!!!"

TK & Rachel took off in a taxi towards the finish line with Ron & Christina hot on their heels. At the finish line, all of the other teams were waiting for them and cheering for them. (I can't believe Jennifer of Nathan & Jennifer was actually smiling!) Watching bumpy footage of some team running, I was biting my nails. Would it be TK & Rachel or Ron & Christina?

Across 10 cities, 4 continents, and nearly 30,000 miles, TK & Rachel are the new winners of The Amazing Race! They can't believe it. He's absolutely speechless!

Ron & Christina were the second team to meet Phil and everybody else and immediately congratulated TK & Rachel. Phil told Christina that he remembered when she told him if she didn't know if the old man could change. She told him that she'd really wanted to do this and there was nobody else she'd rather do the race with and was so happy to be there with him. Ron said he was grateful, that he's changed for the better, and that for once in his life he really means it when he tells Christina that he loves her.

Nicolas & Don were the third and final team to the finish line amidst all of the cheering and clapping. Phil told Don that he's officially the oldest person to ever make it this far in the race and everybody cheered at that. When Phil asked him if he ever thought he'd make it this far, Don said, "Yeah, but not in third!" They congratulated the other teams and Nicolas said this was a wonderful experience made even better by doing it with his grandfather. I thought it was really cool when everybody started cheering, "Grandpa! Grandpa! Grandpa!"

Rachel said that her feelings for TK are very real and that he's her best friend, her rock, and her favorite person. TK said he was glad they didn't compromise their relationship along the way and the fact that they made great friends along the way made their win even sweeter. He finished it off by saying, "Nice guys can finish first". Yes indeed TK!

So what did you think about the finale? Were you glad that TK & Rachel won and the rest of the finishes? Looking back over the season, did you have any favorite moments? What was your favorite location they traveled to this season? Are you going to watch next season? I know I sure will!

With four teams left, this week's The Amazing Race began in Osaka, Japan at the ninth pit stop of the race. Ron & Christina were the first team to leave at 7:02 AM and found out that the teams would now travel across Osaka by taxi to find the building with a hole in it, the Umeda Sky Building. Once there, the teams would have to find the floating garden (the observatory located on the top of the building) where they would find their next clue. Nathan & Jennifer left at 7:15 AM (Happy Birthday Jennifer!) and Nicolas & Donald left at 7:21 AM. All three teams arrived at the building only to find the observatory wouldn't open until 10:00 AM. As soon as they were able to, the teams grabbed elevators to the top and grabbed the next clue.

Teams would now have to travel over 1,000 miles to Taipei, Taiwan. Upon arrival in Taipei, teams would then take a taxi to Taipei Main Station and find their next clue. As TK & Rachel were finally able to leave the prior pit stop at 10:18 AM, the other three teams were off to the airport to grab tickets for flights to Taipei. (Did anybody else find it odd that Nicolas said that there were only pansies left in the game while in their taxi?)

While TK & Rachel were roaming outside the building for the garden (oops!), Ron & Christina snagged the first flight out of Taipei at 1:00 PM. At the counter, Christina slyly told the ticket lady to tell the other teams that there were no more seats left on that flight. When the lady told Nathan & Jennifer that, Jennifer exploded just a little bit. Regardless, they weren't able to get on the flight and had to get tickets for a flight that left at 1:15 PM. Nicolas & Donald would be on that flight with them also. Fortunately for TK & Rachel, they had since figured out that the garden was upstairs in the building and, after walking past the clue box at least one time, finally grabbed their next clue. They got the airport soon after and would be on a third plane leaving.

The first plane landed in Taipei at 2:51 PM and the second flight landed at 3:05 PM. Ron & Christina (first flight) ran to find their taxi and took off. After landing Nathan & Jennifer and Nicolas & Donald went to stand in line to have their money exchanged (they never showed Ron & Christina doing this). The third plane with TK & Rachel landed and then guess what? TK & Rachel got in line for their money exchange and even wound up being ahead of Nathan & Jennifer in line. (The only thing I can guess is that Nathan & Jennifer were running around trying to find the best line.) So TK & Rachel were now caught up with the others and let's just say that Jennifer was a little ticked off about it.

Ron & Christina were (of course) the first team to reach the station and get the next clue. Teams would have to travel by high-speed rail to the city of Taichung where they would then have to travel by taxi to Jiji and find Acrobatics Jeep for the next clue. The other three teams were just leaving the airport in Taipei at this time and was it here that Jennifer provided the title for the show. While leaving the airport in the taxi, Jennifer told Nathan that she could feel hatred in her for TK & Rachel and wanted to rip the dreads out of his head. She also said, "Sorry guys, I'm not happy to see you." She's acting quite the bitch on her birthday don't you think?

Ron & Christina were still holding down their first place position by getting tickets to Jiji before the other teams. The three remaining teams were all able to snag tickets on a second train and were still stuck together. When Ron & Christina found the next clue, they discovered it was a Road Block. Who's ready for a tricky ride? One of them would choose to be a passenger on a car driven by a professional stunt driver. The stunt? The driver would maneuver the car on to a giant teeter totter (yikes!) where they he would drive back and forth on it while it went back and forth. Then they would have to switch to an amphibious car and be driven underwater for 17 seconds. Once they finished both rides, they would receive the next clue.

Ron chose to do it for his team and his reaction on the teeter totter was absolutely priceless! Poor guy seemed so scared but he was definitely a trooper. Upon receiving the next clue, they read that teams would have to travel by to Taipei (via high-speed rail again) and find GK Teahouse in Taipei. They would each have to order and drink a cup of tea. Their clue would be revealed at the bottom of the cup once they were done drinking it. They took off for the train station as the other teams began arriving at the Road Block. Rachel, Nathan, and Donald chose to do the task for their teams.

When Rachel finished, their next clue was their Speed Bump. Instead of going back to the station to go back to Osaka, they would have to make their way by taxi just over one mile to He-Ping where they would take part in a traditional Chinese ritual that was performed annually during the lantern festival. After putting on safety suits, they had to run through fireworks, were doused with water, and then received the clue that sent them to the train station. (It actually looked like a cool task that I would love to do!)

Ron & Christina were able to get 7:36 tickets for the train and were off to Taipei. Nathan & Jennifer arrived a tad too late to get the 7:36 tickets and had to settle for tickets on the 8:00 train. That was the same train that Nicolas & Donald would be on as well as TK & Rachel!!! Their Speed Bump didn't slow them down at all! Of course, Jennifer whined the whole time on the train about how TK & Rachel are always so lucky and how everything was stupid. It was hilarious when Nicolas & Donald left to go tell TK & Rachel what Jennifer was saying about them. I think I would have had to get away from them myself.

Ron & Christina arrived at the teahouse, finished up their tea, and found that the clue on the bottom of the cup told them to go to the Gong Guan Night Market in downtown Taipei. They would then have to find a clown who would give them their next clue. Ron & Christina found the market (and the clown) quickly and found that the next clue was the Detour. Fire or Earth? In Fire, teams would have to find a marked field where they would participate in a mystical Chinese ritual. They would write messages of luck (good and/or bad) on the lanterns and then burn money underneath them. The hot air would cause the lanterns to lift up into the sky. After doing 20 lanterns, they would receive their next clue. In Earth, the teams would participate in a local custom used to release stress. They would have to walk down a 200-foot path made up of jagged stones on their bare feet and then turn around and walk back on the same stones before receiving the next clue.

Ron & Christina chose Earth. Meanwhile, Nicolas & Donald had reached the teahouse and were drinking their tea. They finished as TK & Rachel arrived at the teahouse. TK & Rachel were leaving the teahouse as Nathan & Jennifer were finally arriving (last place!). Ron & Christina finished up their Detour and received the next clue. Teams would now travel by taxi through the busy streets of Taipei to the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Plaza. That would be the tenth pit stop of the race and one team would be eliminated.

Ron & Christina grabbed a taxi and were on their way to the Plaza. The other three teams were off finding their clowns in the park. All of the teams chose Earth (which is what I would have done) and began making their way to the stone path. However, TK & Rachel and Nicolas & Donald chose to take taxis while Nathan & Jennifer were told by a local that taking the subway and then a bus would be the quickest route for them because of the traffic. The whole time Nathan & Jennifer were fighting. They especially caused an ugly scene while waiting for the bus to pick them up. I actually felt bad for the locals because of their screaming at each other.

Ron & Christina, unsurprisingly, were the first team to arrive at the pit stop. They were guaranteed a spot in the final three and, as the winners of this leg of the race, won five-night trips for two to Curacao. Phil told them they were the happiest he'd ever seen them (and they looked very happy!) and they said it was because they'd finally come together as a team.

Meanwhile, Nicolas & Donald and TK & Rachel had arrived at the rock path and were making their barefoot way across it. They finished as Nathan & Jennifer finally arrived for their turn. After some English problems, Nicolas & Donald and TK & Rachel were now on their way to the pit stop. Nathan & Jennifer quickly (very quickly!) finished and grabbed a taxi as well.

TK & Rachel were the second team to meet with Phil and were ecstatic that they were able to make up so much time and would be participating in the million dollar finals.

Then we saw two shadowy features running to meet Phil and it was Nicolas & Donald (I swear I jumped up and down and hollered at this!) and they are the third team to arrive!!! They would be going on to the finals also and competing for the million dollars! Donald said later that he was so glad they weren't the first team out of the race and that his goal was for them to make it to the final three. Way to go!

Of course, this means that Nathan & Jennifer were the last team to arrive and they were most definitely eliminated. They were sad and told Phil that they'd fought a lot but that they'd really wanted to win. After that, Jennifer told Nathan (away from Phil) that he killed their relationship on this trip. He began crying and she hugged him. Boo freaking hoo. Get off my screen!

Next week on the season finale, TK & Rachel are feeling pinched at the Detour. Donald comes down on Nicolas over a mix-up (something about reading a clue wrong and that they're through). Ronald watches as his daugher hangs on for dear life (climbing some ice with hooks).

So, what did you think about this week's episode? Were you like me and thought TK & Rachel might have been really out of it when they were searching outside the building for the garden? Did you find it hilarious that Nathan & Jennifer weren't able to get on the first flight with Christina & Ronald? And what about them winning a leg of the race yet again? Were you as happy as I was when Nathan & Jennifer were eliminated? Finally, who do you want to win the million dollars? I can't wait for next week!

This week's The Amazing Race began at the eighth pit stop of the race -- in Mumbai, India. Because they won the last leg of the race, TK & Rachel were the first team to begin this ninth leg at 1:25 PM. The teams would now have to fly almost 4,000 miles to Osaka, Japan. After landing, they would then travel by taxi to Kishiwada Castle where they would have to search the grounds for their next clue.

TK & Rachel left and went to a local hotel so that they could use the internet and look for tickets. Nicolas & Donald left at 1:33 PM (with only $414 for this leg of the race) and grabbed a taxi for the airport. Ron & Christina left at 1:44 PM and left for a travel agency at the airport. Nathan & Jennifer didn't get to take off until 2:38 PM but it really didn't matter. All of the teams were able to get tickets with ease. TK & Rachel bought tickets for a flight that would be leaving at 6:55 PM while the other three teams bought tickets for a flight that left at 8:30 PM.

The three teams checked in and left on their flight wondering where TK & Rachel were. Nobody had seen them since the pit stop. Well, TK & Rachel had left long ago on their flight but when we were told how many stops they would be making it became quickly apparent that they'd made the wrong decision. TK & Rachel's flight would be making stops in New Delhi and Beijing before landing in Osaka. The 8:30 flight that the other three teams were on would only be making one stop before arriving in Osaka -- in Hong Kong.

As TK & Rachel landed in each of their stopover locations, they wondered where everybody else was at and began getting worried. The other three teams (still wondering about TK & Rachel) landed in Osaka at 2:30 PM and went to work finding a taxi to take them to the castle. Nathan & Jennifer reached the castle first and almost immediately found the clue box. Teams would now have to travel by taxi to JR Noda Station there in Osaka. Then they would have to find the cleaning man who would give them their next clue.

As Nathan & Jennifer left to find the station, Ron & Christina arrived at the castle and began looking inside the castle instead of on the grounds. Nicolas & Donald then arrived at the castle but Ron & Christina were able to make it to the clue box before them. Both of the teams were now on their way to the station, with Donald really gasping for air in his taxi. Nicolas was worried about him but he said he'd just grab some water when they arrived at their next location.

Meanwhile, Nathan & Jennifer found the cleaning man and he gave them their next clue. It was a Road Block asking who was the backseat driver? One person from each team would have to be a taxi driver for this task. They would have to put on a hat and gloves and then transport a local couple five miles through the confusing streets of Osaka and drop them off at a specific address. Once there, the couple would give them their next clue and the team member would have to drive back to their partner before opening the clue.

Jennifer chose to be the taxi driver for her team and was checking herself out in the mirrors inside the car as Ron & Christina arrived at the station. I had to laugh when the lady in the back seat rolled her eyes at Jen's primping! Ron & Christina found the cleaning man and she chose to do the task. Unfortunately for them, Christina is not a good driver. She'd even already remarked on the way to the station that there was no way she'd be able to drive in this city. Too late now Christina! I don't really think it would have mattered much if Ron had chosen to drive anyway.

One thing that confused me on this part of the race is that the teams were told in the clue that they could not have a local lead or help them and that the couple in the backseat of their taxi couldn't help either. I guess asking for directions was OK though because both Jennifer and Christina did that multiple times. As they were beginning their five-mile trek, Nicolas & Donald found the cleaning man at the station and received their clue. Nicolas decided that he would be doing the driving and almost immediately asked for directions as well.

I must say that this task looked awfully confusing and I probably would have completely freaked out! The three drivers though finally figured out that they were needing to drop their passengers off at the Post Office. The three of them seemed to have dropped them off at about the same time (and received their clue) but getting back to their teammate at the station would be a different matter. Jennifer got back to Nathan with relative ease and opened their clue. Teams would now have to travel by taxi to the Kito-Mido Buddhist Temple for their next clue.

Nathan & took off in a taxi while Christina arrived back at the station to pick up her dad. Nicolas was totally and completely lost while TK & Rachel were finally landing in Osaka. I loved the little snippet with Jennifer trying to tell Nathan about her experience as a taxi driver when he just cut her off and said that he couldn't listen to her because he was watching the driver. Wow! How nice Nathan!

Nathan & Jennifer were the first to arrive at the temple and get the next clue. It was a Detour - Sense of Touch or Sense of Smell. In Touch, teams would have to make their way on foot to the Shimojima Building where they would have to play a game of soccer with mini robots controlled by cell phones. Once each team member scored a goal against countering robots, they would receive their next clue. In Smell, teams would make their way to a two-story flower shop, that only sold artificial flowers, and use just their noses to identify one real flower hidden among the thousands of artificial ones. After they found the real flower, they would receive their clue from the shopgirl.

Nathan & Jennifer tried to determine which place was closer but when a local told them they were both ten minutes away, they decided to do Sense of Smell. Ron & Christina also decided to do Sense of Smell. Meanwhile, Nicolas found his way back to the station to pick up his grandfather who told him that they were about ten minutes behind the other teams. Nicolas and Donald decided to do Sense of Touch and began making their way to the Shimojima Building.

Nathan & Jennifer and Ron & Christina were both overwhelmed by how many flowers there were in the shop and began to doubt if they'd made the right choice. Putting their hands behind their backs, they decided to make a go for it with Ron & Christina on the top floor while Nathan & Jennifer went to sniffing on the ground floor. After Nicolas scored his first goal with his robot, we were shown TK & Rachel in a taxi leaving the airport in Osaka. (I must say that the robot task looked completely awesome!)

After having no luck on the first floor, Nathan & Jennifer go upstairs to begin sniffing. They find their flower before Ron & Christina and get their next clue. Teams would now have to travel by taxi through Osaka and find Tempozan Park where they would find Phil for their next pit stop.

Ron & Christina found their flower and received their clue while Nathan & Jennifer were still looking for a taxi driver that even knew where Tempozan Park was. They jumped in a taxi and, with Christina's ability to speak Japanese, were on their way while Nathan & Jennifer begin falling apart yet again. Finally, a local helped Nathan & Jennifer out by telling a driver in Japanese where they wanted to go. When they got into the taxi, Jennifer accused Nathan of pushing her in (which he clearly did not do when they showed the replay). Back at the Touch task, Donald finally got his goal and they received their clue. They were off to the pit stop now themselves.

Even though Ron & Christina's driver had to stop and ask for directions, they still arrived at the pit stop first. (Phil was so perfectly deadpan when he told them!) Each one of them won an electric vehicle for coming in first. Nathan & Jennifer were the second team on the mat and were frustrated because they haven't won a leg of the race yet and because they continue to bicker between themselves. Nathan said that the best team would wind up finish last and that it would be them! Jennifer quickly corrected him. Nicolas & Donald were the third team to reach Phil and were very happy to still be in it.

TAR hurried us up through TK & Rachel's tasks since we knew they were well behind the other teams and would definitely be the last team to arrive. (Rachel did the taxi Road Block and they did the Sense of Smell Detour.) When they finally met up with Phil, he told them they were the last team to arrive but that this leg was a non-elimination leg. (How convenient!) He told them they were nearly three hours behind the other teams and that they would have to overcome a Speed Bump in the next leg of the race. I don't see how in the world they're going to make up the ground unless one of the other teams really mess up (like they did this time) or they get saved by everybody waiting around for a flight or for a place to open.

Next week, we'll find out who the final three teams will be. Jennifer says she wants to rip the dreadlocks out of TK's head (I wonder what he did to her?). At an airport, Christina told a counterperson to tell the other teams that the flight was full. Jennifer told the counterperson not to listen to them as we get a glimpse of Christina's evil smile!

So what did you think about this week's episode? What do you think about this leg being a non-elimination? Do you think TK & Rachel will be able to overcome their hurdles in the next leg? And what about those streets of Osaka! I don't think you could pay me enough to drive over there.