From Seattle to Beijing

Amazing Race kicked off tonight and we kicked it off with an impromtu get together at Rebecca & John's apartment. Three out of the four contributors to this site were present, though one of us had to work for most of the episode. Phil warned the racers that there would be some unexpected surprises on this season of the race and apparently, though I missed it, every leg will be an elimination leg. The teams began their race on a rain slick hill in Seattle. Almost the entire first hour was dedicated to the navigation through Seattle's traffic in the racers' quest to locate the SeaTac airport. Some teams failed to read their clues carefully and tried to return their cars to the car rental return lot rather than parking them in the Thrifty's Parking Lot. There were only two flights that the teams were allowed to take. The first through United would only have enough seats for six teams and would give them an hour lead on the remaining teams. The soccer moms were put out because Sara got to board the plane first, what with her prostethic & all. But I have to admit that the best airport situation was when the Cho brothers had their water pistols confiscated by the airport police. Hello?! Where have you been for the past 5 years?! If you can't take fluids on a plane, why would they let you take gun shaped toys on it! Oh, boys are dumb!

Once in Beijing, the teams had to locate a restaurant and dine on a Chinese delicacy...... Fish Eyes! Yum-my! For the teams that gagged their way through it, I only have this to say: Suck it up! There were only four fish heads so, how many eyes do you think they really had to eat?! These people come on the show and they don't expect to do things that will push them to their limits. Have they never watched the show before?! From there, they raced to the Forbidden City & had to pull times from a lighted block that would dictate the order in which they would leave the site the next morning. After some confusion & dillydallying, Bilal & Sayeed were the first team to be eliminated from the race in a surprise elimination during the overnight break! Phil did warn them to expect the unexpected! (God, I love Phil!)

The next day, teams raced to find penny cabs that would take them to their detours. They had a choice between Labour (arranging bricks in a specific pattern in a set space) or Leisure (learning a Chinese relaxation exercise). Most of the teams decided to do the "Labour" choice but failed to notice that the outer rim had to be constructed from the gray bricks before they could begin the pattern in the middle with the red ones. Only the gay couple team & the cheerleader team tried the "Leisure" choice. Once they had their clue, they had to race to the Great Wall and scale one of the turrets to reach Phil & the Pit Stop Mat (sounds like a weird rock band). Due to some techinical difficulties with her prostethic, Sara tried to take it slow but the wall proved to be a great challenge for her. But in the end, it was Vipul & Arti who were eliminated second from the race.

The group consensus is that Tom & Terry are the comic relief for this season; Rob & Kimberley are the new team MoJo; and the coalminer & his wife are just so redneck it's endearing.

Favourite Quote from this episode was from the Cheerleaders, Kellie & Jamie:

Do Muslims believe in Buddha?