TAR18, Recap Leg 4, 3/13/11

Welcome to Leg 4! Last time, on Tokyo to the Limit, teams raced from Australia to Japan. The Cheerios hit someone, so they ended up in last for most of the leg. However, thanks to Mel and Mike being unable to find things in the dark and seem to find a way to get hypothermia, they end up in last place and are eliminated. Who will be eliminated. . . next? (click for more)

Arrival at the pit stop last episode:
1st – Zev/Justin, Team Aspergers
2nd – Gary/Mallory , The Hillbillies
3rd – Ron/Christina, Team Asian
4th – Kisha/Jen, Team Bathroom
5th – Flight Time/Big Easy, The Globetrotters
6th – Jet/Cord, The Cowboy Brothers
7th – Kent/Vyxsin, Team Goth
8th – Margie/Luke, Team ASL
9th – Jaime/Cara, The Cheerios

Commodore Perry Monument, Yokosuka, Japan

8:44 PM Zev/Justin (1st)
Clue: Fly 2700 miles to Li Jiang China! Once there, teams should make their way to Jade Dragon Mountain to get there next clue. Due to limited flights, teams are to take the purchased flight to Kunming, China, and then decide how to proceed to Li Jiang.

9:29 PM Gary/Mallory (2nd)
9:38 PM Ron/Christina (3rd) – who comment on how they’ve been to Li Jiang in the past.
9:50 PM Kisha/Jen (4th)
10:01 PM Flight Time/Big Easy (5th) – (Toyouke: “Hey, no one said anything about the Globetrotters' penalty.”)
10:34 PM Jet/Cord (6th)
11:33 PM Kent/Vyxsin (7th) – Vyxsin decides this is PMA day: Positive Mental Attitude. Of course, this is before they get hopelessly lost in Japan, just like Italy.
11:52 PM Margie/Luke (8th)
12:42 AM Jaime/Cara (9th) – who loathe China. (Toyouke: “The cheerleaders aren't as far behind as I thought they would be.”)

Teams then arrive at the airport as follows:

1- Zev/Justin
2- Gary/Mallory
3- Ron/Christina
4- Kisha/Jen
5- Jaime/Cara
6- Jet/Cord
7- Margie/Luke
8- Flight Time/Big Easy
9- Kent/Vyxsin – (Toyouke: “Wow, they've been going the wrong way this whole time? Who drove to the ocean instead of the mountains in South America? Yeah.” Kmanpat: “Debbie and Bianca, TAR7.”)

(Toyouke: “Boo, bunching.”) The race scheduled an easy to make flight, but Kent and Vyxsin got so lost, they were unable to make it on board. Thus, the teams shake down as follows:

First Flight, Kunming, departs 9:30 AM
1) Zev/Justin
2) Gary/Mallory
3) Ron/Christina
4) Kisha/Jen
5) Jaime/Cara
6) Jet/Cord
7) Margie/Luke
8) Flight Time/Big Easy

Second Flight, Kunming, departs 3:30 PM
1) Kent/Vyxsin

(Toyouke: “Do you think they made them all get on the same flight so the Globetrotters' penalty wouldn't matter? So they could give them a penalty to satisfy Ron and Christina but it wouldn't affect anything because they had so much bunching?” Kmanpat: “No, I think they did it since they would have all gone for that flight anyway.”)

Teams arrive in Kunming. Once there, teams are allowed to chose how they make their way to Lijiang. (Toyouke: “I guess the train will get you there sooner if the flight leaves in the morning instead of that night.“) So, teams arrive at Wijiaba, and work their way to their transport in the following order:

First Train, Lijiang, departs 8:50 PM
1) Ron/Christina

Second Train, Lijiang, departs 10:16 PM
1) Zev/Justin
2) Gary/Mallory
3) Kisha/Jen
4) Jaime/Cara
5) Jet/Cord
6) Margie/Luke
7) Flight Time/Big Easy

Flight, Lijiang, departs 7 AM
1) Kent/Vyxsin

Teams are now instructed to travel to the shuttle to the top of Jade Mountain. They arrive in the following order:

1- Ron/Christina – (Toyouke: “Why are we spending time on this detour to get food? Foreshadowing?”)
2- Jaime/Cara
3- Margie/Luke
4- Kisha/Jen
5- Flight Time/Big Easy
6- Zev/Justin
7- Jet/Cord
8- Gary/Mallory
9- Kent/Vyxsin

Unfortunately, the shuttles don’t leave until 8 AM. (Toyouke: “I smell producer interference. "Kent and Vyxsin are so late! Let's make the bus leave later so everyone else isn't so far ahead of them." Screw that.“) Thus, most of the teams are together and arrive at the Jade Mountain Clue Box in the following order:

1- Jaime/Cara
2- Margie/Luke
3- Ron/Christina
4- Kisha/Jen
5- Jet/Cord
6- Flight Time/Big Easy
7- Gary/Mallory
8- Zev/Justin
9- Kent/Vyxsin

Teams are now instructed to ride a yak after saddling it. One team member must ride it across the river to get the next clue. Team members arrive at the clue in the following order:

1- Jaime
2- Margie
3- Ron
4- Kisha
5- Cord – (Toyouke: “Oh look, something the cowboys don't fail at.“)
6- Flight Time
7- Mallory
8- Zev
9- Vyxsin

Teams complete the task in the following order:

1- Jaime/Cara
2- Margie/Luke
3- Gary/Mallory
4- Jet/Cord
5- Ron/Christina
6- Zev/Justin
7- Kisha/Jen
8- Flight Time/Big Easy
9- Kent/Vyxsin

Teams are now instructed to take a gondola to the top of the mountain and find Spruce Meadow. (Toyouke: “I'm glad to see most people not being stupid and running at 14,000 feet.”) Teams arrive at the clue box in the following order:

1- Margie/Luke
2- Jet/Cord
3- Jaime/Cara
4- Gary/Mallory
5- Flight Time/Big Easy
6- Kisha/Jen
7- Zev/Justin
8- Ron/Christina
9- Kent/Vyxsin – who show up as Zev is hunting through the symbols. Kent and Justin proceed to discuss the repercussions of not taking the first flight. (Toyouke: “I guess technically they could get a penalty for not taking the proper flight, but the later flight already penalized them.”)

Once they arrive, teams get the third roadblock clue.

ROADBLOCK:

Who thinks they’re living the charmed life?

In this roadblock, one team member must search for the twelve animals of the zodiac amongst thousands hanging among the spruce trees. Once they find them, they must put them in the correct order on a mobile in order to get their next clue.

(Toyouke: “Oh...this roadblock SUCKS. I mean, it looks like they don't have decoy animals...and you can look at the sample...and then the ribbons are ordered by length so you can put them in the right order...maybe it doesn't suck that bad.”)

The following teammates take the Roadblock:

1- Luke
2- Cord
3- Cara
4- Mallory
5- Big Easy
6- Jen
7- Zev – who gets very frustrated.
8- Christina
9- Vyxsin

After much zodiac symbol hunting, teams complete the Roadblock in the following order:

1- Gary/Mallory
2- Ron/Christina
3- Margie/Luke
4- Jet/Cord
5- Flight Time/Big Easy
6- Jaime/Cara
7- Kisha/Jen
8- Zev/Justin
9- Kent/Vyxsin

Teams are now instructed to get themselves to Old Town Lijiang. Once there, teams should find the prayer wheel to find their next clue. Teams arrive in the following order:

1- Margie/Luke
2- Gary/Mallory
3- Ron/Christina – who somehow take the wrong vehicle. (Toyouke: “Oh...MARKED. Come on.”)
4- Flight Time/Big Easy – who are polite and help out Ron and Christina by stopping their bus. (Toyouke: “I'm glad the Globetrotters stopped the bus.”)
5- Jet/Cord
6- Kisha/Jen
7- Jaime/Cara
8- Zev/Justin
9- Kent/Vyxsin – after losing their fanny pack in the gondola on the way down the mountain.

Teams are now instructed to figure out their Chinese Zodiac sign, write a wish and place it in the correct slot on the prayer wheel. (Toyouke: “OK, now I KNOW the producers are just coming up with shit to waste time. "Write a wish and say your Chinese zodiac sign aloud"? Please.”) Teams complete the task in the following order:

1- Margie/Luke
2- Gary/Mallory
3- Ron/Christina
4- Jet/Cord – (Toyouke: “Why is it not surprising in the least that Jet is a Monkey?”)
5- Kisha/Jen
6- Jaime/Cara
7- Flight Time/Big Easy – who struggle with Flight Time’s sign. He’s a dragon, by the way.
8- Zev/Justin
9- Kent/Vyxsin

And we get the Detour Clue.

DETOUR:
Hammer OR Horn
*Hammer: Teams use a mallet to pulverize hot molten candy and then cut it into pieces. Once complete, teams get their next clue.
*Horn: Teams must travel to a square and pick up a traditional horn and lead a procession to Wencheng Palace to get their next clue.

1- Margie/Luke choose Hammer
2- Gary/Mallory choose Hammer
3- Jet/Cord choose Hammer
4- Ron/Christina choose Hammer
5- Jaime/Cara choose Horn – and then quickly make the first Bald Snark of the season to Hammer.
6- Kisha/Jen choose Hammer
7- Flight Time/Big Easy choose Horn
8- Zev/Justin choose Horn
9- Kent/Vyxsin choose Hammer

Teams complete the detour in the following order:

1- Margie/Luke
2- Jet/Cord
3- Gary/Mallory
4- Kisha/Jen
5- Ron/Christina
6- Flight Time/Big Easy
7- Jaime/Cara
8- Zev/Justin
9- Kent/Vyxsin

Teams get their clue and find that they must now make their way to the top of Lion Hill nad find the Eternal Tower, the PIT STOP of the fourth leg of this racearoundtheworld. The last team to arrive MAY be eliminated!

1- Margie/Luke – who win a trip for 2 to Aruba.
2- Jet/Cord
3- Gary/Mallory
4- Ron/Christina
5- Kisha/Jen
6- Flight Time/Big Easy
7- Jaime/Cara
8- Zev/Justin
9- Kent/Vyxsin

And Kent and Vyxsin are. . .not quite at the pit stop due to the missing fanny pack. Thus, there is more racing to do. In the meantime, all of the other teams are launched immediately on their next leg. (Toyouke: “This is SO STUPID. One double leg is more than enough. They got lost. They were stupid. Just let them fail. Also, you'll bend the rules for Kent and Vyxsin but not for Mike and Mel? The WHOLE POINT of this show is that there is NO producer interference.”)

ORDER NOW:
1st – Margie/Luke
2nd – Jet/Cord
3rd – Gary/Mallory
4th – Ron/Christina
5th – Kisha/Jen
6th – Flight Time/Big Easy
7th – Jaime/Cara
8th – Zev/Justin
9th – Kent/Vyxsin

Next week: We find out whether or not the Goths survive to race another day. And there is a Double U-Turn. This race gets better and better. (Toyouke: “Whatever, I'm still pissed about producer interference.”) Until next time!