TAR17, Recap Leg 8, 11/14/10

Welcome to Leg 8! Last time, on To Russia, With Love, Team Jumba, teams raced through St. Petersburg, and played in the circus and on the court. Team Jumba made two critical taxi mistakes, while Neverland made one, and that was the difference in being eliminated. So Jumba is out. Who will be eliminated. . . next? (click for more)

Arrival at the pit stop last episode:
1st – Nat/Kat, Team ER
2nd – Brook/Claire, Team Infomercial
3rd – Nick/Vicki, The Geniuses
4th – Gary/Mallory, The Hillbillies
5th – Jill/Thomas, Team Who?
6th – Chad/Stephanie, Team Neverland

Naryshikin Bastion, Peter and Paul Fortress, Saint Petersburg, Russia

1:06 AM Nat/Kat (1st)
Clue: Fly 4000 miles to Muscat, Oman! Once there, make your way to the Burj al Mabkhurah and find the man at the base of the tower to get an ingot with your entrance time to get next clue.

(Toyouke: “Random guy? Inscribed ingots? That seems needlessly complicated.”)

1:28 AM Brook/Claire (2nd) – (Toyouke: “Why is Brooke wearing enough makeup to pass as a streetwalker?”)
1:29 AM Nick/Vicki (3rd)
1:46 AM Gary/Mallory (4th)
1:53 AM Jill/Thomas (5th)
2:45 AM Chad/Stephanie (6th) – who are sleeping. It’s been a few seasons since a team has overslept their departure time, but Chad and Stephanie finally depart at 4:45 AM. (Toyouke: “Ooo...how long has it been since someone overslept their Pit Stop departure? Wow.” Kmanpat: “TAR3, Andre and Damon, Leg 6.”)

Teams leave the Pit Stop and head towards a travel agency to get tickets for flights. (Toyouke: “I'm impressed there is an English-speaking travel agent open at 1am.”) They arrive in the following order:

1- Nat/Kat
2- Brook/Claire
3- Nick/Vicki
4- Gary/Mallory
5- Jill/Thomas
6- Chad/Stephanie

Teams then get tickets on their flights. Nat and Kat find a flight through Amsterdam that gets them in at 8:55 PM. Once that fills, Nick and Vicki find the 10:35 PM arrival, also through Amsterdam. But when Chad and Stephanie arrive, all the flights through Amsterdam are gone, so they get a 10:45 PM arrival through another city. (Toyouke: “I know there's bunching coming up, but it would have been hilarious had they lost an entire day.”)

So, the Amazing Green, Red, and Yellow Lines look like this:

Flight 1 via Amsterdam, arrive 8:55 PM
1) Nat/Kat
2) Brook/Claire

Flight 2 via Amsterdam, arrive 10:35 PM
1) Nick/Vicki
2) Gary/Mallory
3) Jill/Thomas

Flight 3, arrive 10:45 PM
1) Chad/Stephanie

All teams arrive in Muscat in the following order:

1- Brooke/Claire
2- Nat/Kat
3- Jill/Thomas
4- Gary/Mallory
5- Nick/Vicki
6- Chad/Stephanie

Teams then drive themselves to the Burj Al Mubkharah, and arrive in the following order:

1- Brooke/Claire
2- Nat/Kat
3- Jill/Thomas
4- Chad/Stephanie
5- Gary/Mallory
6- Nick/Vicki

Teams collected their ingot times in the following order:

7:30 AM Climb
1) Brooke/Claire
2) Nat/Kat

7:45 AM Climb
1) Jill/Thomas
2) Chad/Stephanie

8:00 AM Climb
1) Gary/Mallory
2) Nick/Vicki

So teams sleep at the base of the tower. When teams get up at 6 am, Chad proposes to Stephanie (Auburnium0513: “I’m hoping she says no, since he's been such an ass.” Toyouke: “I would agree. He's an ass! Say no! You need to work on his being an ass before you agree to marry him. That's what I would do.”), and the graphic at the bottom magically changes from “Newly Dating” to “Engaged”. Woo. Now they can harass each other for the rest of their lives. (Toyouke: “Wrong answer. Correct answer: "We have some things to talk about like, how you blame me for all our problems. And I don't feel comfortable agreeing to spend my life with you if that's what I have to look forward to.")

Teams arrive at the top of the tower in the following order:

1- Brooke/Claire
2- Nat/Kat
3- Jill/Thomas
4- Chad/Stephanie
5- Nick/Vicki
6- Gary/Mallory

Teams are now instructed to drive to Jebel Shems, the tallest mountain in Oman. Once at the base, a safety driver will take over the drive to the summit to get the next clue. (Toyouke: “Aww, they don't have to drive on the dangerous road?”) Teams arrive at the base in the following order:

1- Chad/Stephanie
2- Jill/Thomas
3- Nick/Vicki
4- Brook/Claire
5- Nat/Kat
6- Gary/Mallory

Teams then switch to the safety driver and arrive at the summit in the following order:

1- Chad/Stephanie
2- Jill/Thomas
3- Nick/Vicki
4- Brook/Claire
5- Nat/Kat
6- Gary/Mallory

And teams come to the eighth roadblock.

ROADBLOCK:
Who wants to add a little magic to their life?

In this roadblock, one team member must rappel 500 feet into the canyon, and search the plateau for one of the genie lamps that contains Aladdin’s ring. Once they find the ring, they deliver it to the sheik for their next clue?

(Toyouke: “This is an interesting Roadblock. Although the question is misleading. It implies there is some magic happening. Possibly with the goats.”)

The following team members complete the Roadblock.

1- Chad
2- Jill
3- Vicki
4- Claire
5- Kat
6- Mallory

After much rappelling and lamp searching, teams complete the Roadblock in the following order:

1- Chad/Stephanie
2- Jill/Thomas
3- Nick/Vicki – who discover a flat tire upon completion. (Toyouke: “Uh, that's not just a flat tire, that looks like a broken wheel or axle.”)
4- Brook/Claire
5- Nat/Kat
6- Gary/Mallory

Teams are now instructed to drive themselves to the town of Nizwa and find the roundabout with the giant stack of books. Teams find the location in the following order:

1- Chad/Stephanie
2- Jill/Thomas
3- Brook/Claire
4- Nick/Vicki
5- Nat/Kat
6- Gary/Mallory

And we get the Detour Clue.

DETOUR:
Water Table OR Wedding Table
*Water Table: Teams drive themselves to an ancient well and fill a water truck. Then, using an address and a drive, teams take the truck to Aswad al Eid and find the address, deliver the water, and get their next clue from the driver.
*Wedding Table: Teams go to a nearby market, buy 25 frozen chickens and other ingredients for maqbous, a traditional wedding soup, and present it to the bride and groom to get the next clue.

1-Chad/Stephanie choose Water Table – (Auburnium0513: “Wow, the newly engaged couple didn't take the wedding option?”)
2-Jill/Thomas choose Water Table – (Auburnium0513: “Ooo...first Fern of the season.”)
3-Nick/Vicki choose Water Table
4-Brook/Claire choose Water Table
5-Nat/Kat choose Water Table
6- Gary/Mallory choose Water Table

Teams complete the detour in the following order:

1- Jill/Thomas
2- Chad/Stephanie
3- Brook/Claire
4- Nick/Vicki
5- Nat/Kat
6- Gary/Mallory

Teams are now instructed to drive themselves to Muttrah Souq and find Ghalib Bahkeet Salem Bait Kalshat al-Maha Store, which sells frankincense. Once there, teams take the incense and find Ali Baba in another store. (Toyouke: “"How are they supposed to identify Ali Baba?" Auburnium0513: "I don't know, I'm just waiting for the 40 thieves joke." Toyouke: "That would imply someone left in this group is smart enough to make it.") Teams arrive at the Muttrah Souq in the following order:

1- Jill/Thomas
2- Chad/Stephanie
3- Nick/Vicki
4- Brook/Claire – who get caught by the cops going the wrong way on a one way street.
5- Nat/Kat
6- Gary/Mallory

Teams get their incense and find Ali Baba in the following order:

1- Jill/Thomas
2- Chad/Stephanie
3- Nick/Vicki
4- Brook/Claire
5- Nat/Kat
6- Gary/Mallory

Teams get their clue and find that they must now find Al Alam Palace, the PIT STOP of the eighth leg of this racearoundtheworld. The last team to arrive MAY be eliminated!

1- Chad/Stephanie – who win a trip for 2 to Belize.
2- Jill/Thomas – who should have been first, but apparently there is a rule where you can’t pay taxis to lead you, so they got a 30 minute penalty.
3- Nick/Vicki
4- Brook/Claire
5- Nat/Kat
6- Gary/Mallory

And Gary and Mallory are eliminated. I’m going to miss them and Mallory’s excitement about EVERYTHING.

ORDER NOW:
1st – Chad/Stephanie
2nd – Jill/Thomas
3rd – Nick/Vicki
4th – Brook/Claire
5th – Nat/Kat

Next week: Bangladesh! This probably means train travel. :) And a Double U-Turn! Until next time!