Amazing Race: Sand & Ice

05_camel

Amazing Race
I’m Like Ricky Bobby

Whenever there is a desert episode, it usually involves a camel. I love the camel challenges since camels are ornery and hilarious. They usually spit and drool. When that happens to other people, it makes me smile. I was sad in this episode since, even though we got to see a camel, they did not spit on anyone. How sad.

The teams left the pit stop in the following order:

  1. Sam & Dan – Gay Brothers – 12:25 pm
  2. Big Easy & Flight Time – Harlem Globetrotters – 12:27 pm
  3. Brian & Ericka – IR Couple – 12:30 pm
  4. Gary & Matt – Pinky & the Brain – 12:35 pm
  5. Meghan & Cheyne – Tetherball – 12:37 pm
  6. Lance & Keri – Law-Talking Guy – 12:47 pm
  7. Mike & Canaan – Christians – 12:49 pm
  8. Maria & Tiffany – Poker Ladies – 12:55 pm

Clue: Fly to the Persian Gulf and find the World’s tallest building. It is the Burj Dubai in Dubai.

Airport Fun Times

While heading to the airport, the brothers asked their cab driver where the Persian Gulf was located. Err….they are cute but dumb. The Globetrotters headed to an internet cafe. While going to the airport, Ericka said the building was in Dubai. Brian questioned her, but she was very sure of it. The Globetrotters found the answer in the cafe and also researched flights. It said that flights had to be booked 24 hours in advance so they decided to just go to the airport. The brothers arrived at the airport around the time Tetherball left the pit stop. The brothers asked if they could book a flight to the Persian Gulf. The airline representative didn’t know what they meant. Sam finally realized the Persian Gulf was a general area and not a country. Ding ding ding! IR Couple showed up and told them it was in Dubai. Everyone was at the airport while the brothers and IR Couple were still getting their tickets. The ticket lady must have been super slow. The only people not at the airport was Law-Talking Guy team who were at an Internet cafe trying to book their flights. The page was completely blank when they would try to buy them. Keri was saying there was something wrong with the site. Lance said it was because the flights were getting booked up and disappearing. I was wondering if it said something about tickets needed to be purchased 24 hours in advance online like it did for the Globetrotters and they weren’t noticing that. They finally headed to the airport and got on the same flight as everyone else.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

05_dubai

All teams arrived and started heading to the building in their taxis. They commented about how hot and humid it was there. The Poker Ladies arrived first where they signed up on a list. They would have to go in groups to the top of the building to get their next clue. The Poker Ladies were in the first group leaving at 5:30 am the next day. Also in that group was IR Couple, Gay Brothers, and Tetherball. While this was going on, the Christians were yelling at their cab driver and a random guy on the street about not knowing what building they were talking about. Of course, they kept asking the building with the water fountain since apparently they didn’t learn the name of the building or even tell them they wanted the tallest building. The cab driver and random guy on the street were both saying it was at the Address Hotel, but Canaan was telling them that they just came from there and it wasn’t it. They arrived at the correct place to be the first team in the second group leaving at 5:45 am. Also in that group was Law-Talking Guy, Globetrotters and Pinky & the Brain.

The next morning, they all put on hard hats since the building was still under construction and got into an elevator to go up 124 flights. Down on the ground, the second group had Mika who was crying since she was afraid of heights. She was worried about what she had to do once they were up there. They all got their next clue.

Clue: Find a parking structure nearby with marked cars and drive themselves into the Dubai Desert to find the Conservation Reserve where they would ride 4×4 vehicles to their next clue.

The clue also had a fast forward in it. It was the only one in the race. The team that completed it, could skip all other tasks and go directly to the pit stop.

Fast Forward: Teams had to find the Dubai Autodrome, a race track, and drive in a F3 open race car. While accelerating up to speeds of 100 mph, one team member must complete a lap in 45 seconds or less to get the next clue.

Tetherball wanted to do the fast forward. The other teams were deciding if they should try to go for it or just continue on since there would be a possibility of falling behind if they were not the first team to arrive to the fast forward. The second group decided to not even bother with the fast forward since they figured someone from the first group was already headed towards it. The second group ran to the nearby parking garage except for Law-Talking Guy who seemed oblivious to where other teams were heading and loves to run off in the totally wrong direction. They were in some other parking garage, while Lance was saying they should have followed the other teams. Ya think? The Christians and Globetrotters turned in two different directions, so not sure who was actually going the right way. Law-Talking Guy finally found the correct parking structure and marked cars. Shortly after, Tetherball arrived to the Fast Forward at the Dubai Autodrome.

Driving & Desert

05_racetrack

Cheyne was going to be the one doing the racing.  He was excited to do it while he was being strapped into it while wearing a helmet. Meghan looked extremely nervous. At the same time, IR Couple, Gay Brothers and Poker Ladies were arriving at the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve.  That’s where I saw the camels. They all piled into their 4x4s to be taken to the clue box. They were riding through the dunes, cruising really fast.  The Christians had to stop and ask for directions. Over in Law-Talking Guy’s car, Lance asked Keri if he was supposed to take an exit off the freeway. She said, “No” three times, so, of course, he took it. She said, “You were supposed to go straight!” He responded, “So we aren‘t supposed to be on this exit?” Nice. Back in the desert, the three teams arrived at the clue box and found a road block.

Road Block: Who thinks they can beat the desert heat? One team member will take a traditional bag for storing water and search the desert for urns filled with water and buried in the sand. Not all the urns contain water though. Once they fill their bag, they must give it to a guy with a thirsty camel to receive their next clue.

Oh, how I wish they had to do something with the camel. Brian, Dan and Tiffany decided to do it. They weren’t sure how buried the urns were so they all headed off into random directions looking. The Globetrotters and Pinky & the Brain were at the reserve headed to the road block clue. Tiffany was the first one to find an urn, but it didn’t have any water. Big Easy and Matt decided to do the road block. Brian finally found an urn with water. Law-Talking Guy was still randomly driving somewhere in the city and not in the desert. Cheyne finally took off on his first lap. He did it in 40 seconds. He’s the one that said the Ricky Bobby quote.  They were able to take a Maserati to the Souk Madinat Jumeirah, the next pit stop.

05_desert

Back in the desert, Brian filled up his bag without anyone else noticing what he was doing. Dan found another empty urn. When Brian finished, he walked by Tiffany and Dan and whispered to them without motioning that it was straight behind him so they could head that way without Big Easy and Matt knowing it was there. IR Couple were currently in second place and received their next clue.

Clue: Teams had to head back into the city and find Ski Dubai, a huge indoor ski resort, covering an area of more than four football fields, to find their next clue.

Dan’s ladle broke right when he was about to use it at the water urn. Tiffany said she would fill hers up and then she would fill his bag up with her ladle. They headed to the camel guy when Matt finally found an urn. The brothers were in third place and the Poker Ladies were in fourth place. Matt filled up his bag and they were in fifth place. Big Easy was still out there looking for an urn.  While driving away, the Christians drove by IR Couple. Brian told them, they needed to go five miles back the other way since they weren’t heading in the right direction, I guess. Ericka said Brian was nicer than she would have been.

While the Poker Ladies were getting ready to leave, a car was behind them, so Maria decided to go forward without looking where she was driving. She ran over some metal thing and broke the radiator. Way to go! They had to wait for another car to arrive. The brothers decided to wait with them since they said they would have still been out there due to the broken ladle, if it hadn’t been for Tiffany’s help. The Christians had arrived and were headed out to the clue. Pinky & the Brain were leaving. Big Easy found an urn and they were off to Ski Dubai. Canaan decided to do the road block. Another car arrived quickly! The brothers took off and then when the Poker Ladies took off, Tiffany said something about it had to be the girls that wrecked the car. Maria said, “It’s okay because I’m an Asian female driver.” Just when I was starting to like her, she goes all annoying again. Law-Talking Guy were still lost somewhere that wasn’t the desert.

Meghan and Cheyne arrived at the pit stop in first place. As the first place team, they won a trip to Jamaica. Law-Talking Guy finally showed up at the reserve! They were headed off to the road block in the 4×4. Lance decided to do it. Canaan was still out there looking for an urn for water. IR Couple missed the turn off to Ski Dubai so they had to get turned around again. Pinky & the Brain were better at navigating and found it.

Ski Dubai

Pinky & the Brain were the first ones inside the nice, cool enclosure. They also found their next clue, a detour.

Detour: In Build a Snowman, teams had to carry snow from the frigid temperatures indoors to the blistering heat outdoors and then build a traditional snowman. If they could build it before it melted into slush, they would get their next clue. In Find a Snowman, teams had to take a chairlift up to the top of a hill, sled down to mounds of snow and then search through them to find a tiny snowman. Then, they give it to a guy in a polar bear suit for their next clue.

Pinky & the Brain decided to find a snowman. They were headed up on the chairlift, while in the desert Canaan finally found a water urn. Lance was only finding dry ones. The Christians were headed to Ski Dubai while Lance was throwing empty urns down the dunes. Classy. In the snow, Pinky & the Brain had arrived to the top of the hill. Matt said that he sleds in his boxers every winter so he was ready. They read their clue one more time at the bottom where it said they could not use the sled to help dig for the tiny snowman. They started digging with their hands. Gary hoped that the snowman wasn’t white. What color did he expect snow to be? Maybe yellow.

05_snow

IR Couple, Gay Brothers and Poker Ladies all showed up at the same time. They all decided to dig for the snowman. It was quite a big snow mound to dig through and Pinky and the Brain were still digging. Lance was still looking for an urn with water. He said he had about a shot glass full in his bag. The Christians were still driving to Ski Dubai while Mika said that driving 120 mph still felt like they were going 60. Canaan pointed out it was kilometers so it was like going 60-80 mph. Lance finally found an urn with water and they were off to the ski. At least he was in a better mood when he finished. He made a joke saying he could make another lap, but they had to move onto the next clue.

05_sled

Back in the snow, Matt was digging away when the Poker Ladies had arrived at the bottom. The brothers got to the bottom next. Brian was right behind them. Ericka was stuck about halfway down the hill. Then she finally figured out how to go and flew the rest of the way down, laughing hysterically. The Globetrotters arrived and decided to find a snowman. IR Couple, Gay Brothers and Poker Ladies were all searching in the same snow mound while Pinky & the Brain were lamenting losing their lead since no one had found anything yet. Ericka found one first. They showed it to everyone so they could see how tiny it was. They took it to the polar bear for their next clue.

Clue: Teams had to drive themselves through the city to the pit stop, Souk Madinat Jumeirah.

IR Couple were off to the pit stop in second place. The Globetrotters arrived at the bottom. The Poker Ladies and Pinky & the Brain decided to switch to building a snowman. Dan wanted to switch, but Sam said they were sticking to the original plan. Law-Talking Guy managed to get lost headed back into Dubai. Dan was complaining that the other teams could be done with building already when they hadn’t even started. The teams had their snow outside and started to make their snowman. Law-Talking Guy finally thought they were headed the right way. Lance said each of their bad decisions cost them about a half hour. Keri said they were directionally challenged. Around that time, IR Couple were arriving at the pit stop in second place.

Dan finally berated Sam enough so they stopped looking for the snowman and went to build one. As soon as they left, the Globetrotters found one and they were off to the pit stop in third place. The Poker Ladies and the Gay Brothers both saw the Globetrotters leaving as they were gathering their snow. The Globetrotters passed the Christians in the parking garage. They told them they might want their cold gear on since it was cold inside. The Christians appreciated that and grabbed their stuff. Pinky & the Brain thought their snowman looked enough like one so they started putting the accessories on it and making it look a tad rounder before it was judged good enough for the clue. They were off to the pit stop in fourth place.

05_snowman

Mika said she has never sled so she couldn’t do it. Is there a skill involved? It’s gravity! They decided to build a snowman. Law-Talking Guy were still driving somewhere. The Harlem Globetrotters checked in with Phil at the pit stop in third place. The Poker Ladies finished up and got their pit stop clue. The Brothers finished up next and were off. Pinky & the Brain checked in with Phil in fourth place. The Poker Ladies seemed to be getting lost heading to the pit stop. The Gay Brothers asked a taxi guy how to get there.

Law-Talking Guy finally arrived at Ski Dubai. The Christians finally finished and headed off to the pit stop. The Gay Brothers checked in with Phil in fifth place so the Poker Ladies did make a wrong turn somewhere. The Poker Ladies came into the pit stop in sixth place. Law-Talking Guy had chosen to make the snowman and were almost done. The Christians were asking a taxi driver for directions to the pit stop.  Law-Talking Guy were still working on their snowman when the Christians checked in with Phil in seventh place.

Law-Talking Guy finally finished up the snowman. He asked if he could kick the snowman. The lady asked if he wanted the clue or not. Keri told him to just take the clue and not kick the snowman. They headed to the pit stop in last place. They were hoping it was a non-elimination leg, but they knew they were in last place. Phil told them they were the last team to arrive and they had been eliminated from the race.

05_elimination

The order teams arrived at the pit stop:

  1. Meghan & Cheyne – Tetherball
  2. Brian & Ericka – IR Couple
  3. Flight Time & Big Easy – Harlem Globetrotters
  4. Gary & Matt – Pinky & the Brain
  5. Sam & Dan – Gay Brothers
  6. Maria & Tiffany – Poker Ladies
  7. Mika & Canaan – Christians
  8. Lance & Keri – Law-Talking Guy

Questions

  1. Are you sad to see Law-Talking Guy leave? Do you wish another team had gone instead?
  2. Did you think the other vehicle showing up was way too fast? In the past, teams had to wait a long time to get a broken down vehicle. Was it because of the extreme heat, they had backups nearby?
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