Yeah, the driving thing looked pretty dangerous - riding on the grass, having to outrace the bull (notice how almost none of the moped drivers beat the bull) - had it been a real “challenge” at least one person would’ve broken their neck.
Pretty lame episode. I really wish the Amazing Race would 1) make every leg an elimination leg, and 2) eliminate or at least minimize taxis. There’s no skill involved with getting a bad taxi - at least when people are driving themselves and get lost it’s their own dang fault.
Kinda surprising that two of the “likable plucky” teams got kicked out so quick. Usually the “likeable old team” lasts till about the final 5, and I figured the on-off couple would have a good chance at making the final. I’ll be happy to see the subs out soon, and I don’t think the monster truckers are long for this race. The Chippendales also benefited from a leg tweaked to their strengths - no location issues, and the only real challenge involved straight-up strength.
I gave up watching the show a couple of seasons ago because it was just getting too repetitive. Spoon-fed flights and taxis, taxis and more taxis. From what I’m reading here, nothing has changed. I’d love to see a season where teams must get everywhere via public transit - no taxis and no private cars. That one I’d tune in for.
While I do think the taxi drama makes for bad television, it doesn’t seem that out of place for a race around the world. It’s something that travelers would have to deal with, so it makes some sense if they have to actually work with the locals.
But there are problems with it. The biggest problem is that when you catch a cab in any other situation, you don’t just have one vague clue and have to figure it out from there. If you get in and say, “Wijaya Motor” and the driver has no clue, then you probably have a phone number or a street it’s on or some other information. Unless you like to hop in cabs and blurt out random businesses you want to visit.
So it should be modified in such a way that, say after 30 minutes, you can go back to the cluegiver and get more information - a phone number, a street, or something. That can still be a hefty time delay but it least gives them a way to get out of the ‘wandering around lost’ which isn’t fun for anyone.
Probably wouldn’t work so well when traipsing around the farmlands of rural Germany or middle of nowhere Burkina Faso.
My solution has always been to stop putting them on cabs. Make them use public transportation if it is reasonable but if not give them assigned drivers who have instruction to leave all navigation to the teams and make them figure out where they’re going and how to get there.
Yes, when you have a cab driver who is obviously lost then you have some control over it but it also isn’t uncommon to get a cab driver who claims he knows where he is going and then takes them to the wrong place.
I love it when the racers are in Indonesia! I get to say all the useful words I know in Indonesian ("Cepat-cepat! Berhenti di sini! Berapa harga? Terima kasih.) I even try and get my husband to pronounce them. I also love to guess what the challenges will be - bull racing, check, balloon twisting… not so much.
I told Mrs. Cad that they are putting my gaydar on overdrive. There’s probably a reason they just can’t come out as lovers but as far as I’m concerned there are two gay couples this season.
The bunching point was stupid as usual. Picking a bad flight ends up costing the Monster truckers 15 minutes or so after the bull riding? I think the real problem with the taksi was that Waigu Motors did not seem like a well-known place and shared its name with other businesses. The ckue should have taken them directly to the market.
I was wondering the same thing. Plus, there must have been some minimum requirement for what constituted a balloon animal. Because otherwise I would have expected a lot of snakes, worms, and eels.
It’s Wijaya Motors, Wijaya being a famous Javanese king. A quick google tells me that a number of Indonesian things are named “Wijaya”, including a badminton player, an architectural firm, and a holiday resort. There’s a “Wijaya Motor” on Facebook, which appears to have the same logo as on the show.
It was Wijaya Motors, and I’m guessing Wijaya is a fairly common Indonesian surname, because there seemed to be an awful lot of Wijaya businesses around.
It might be nice to give the racers a map every once in a while. That way they could figure things out occasionally rather than relying on cabbies every time.
I think a general description should be on the clue, maybe even in the local language. Nothing exact, but something like “Monkey costume shop (3rd arrondissement)”. At least the cabbie would get the team in the general vicinity, so they have the option of at least asking a local “Pardon, monkey costume shop?”