Okay, here we go. We’re doing things a bit different today. Gord and I have been invited out for beers tonight so we decided to watch the Time-shift at 6 pm MST and blog together at my house. Maybe we’ll do the video blog at the bar.

Olympians leave at 11:04 am and not surprising because the promos kept saying it, they are heading to Hong Kong. Who knew there were 300K Canadians living there? Teams are very excited and they should be. Although Ryan and Rob seemed to keep their bland attitude even when they learned they were heading out of the country. Gotta pick up the excitement boys. We also get a bit of a backstory from Laura and Jackie which doesn’t look good for them.Anyway, since there is only one Air Canada flight to Hong Kong per day from Vancouver, no doubt all the teams will be on the same flight. Yep, that’s Flight 7. Rex and Bob are last to leave so no one knows who was eliminated until they see the Old Couple at the airport.

In Hong Kong teams must find their way to Lantau Peak, take the cable car up to Ngong Pink Village and seek out a blessing from a group of monks. Nice break after that 13 hour flight. Teams rush through the airport and Rex and Bob are out first. Apparently they called advance and determined which was the right taxi. The Blue one. Are Rex and Bob actually playing the game as it should?

 

All teams figure this out except Sukhi and Jinder who, based on info from a stranger decide to take the bus. Buses don’t get lost as much as taxis but if you get on the wrong bus, you’re in big trouble. And they’ve missed it. Rex and Bob get there first followed by the Olympians and a bunch of others. Teams run around in the dark and not surprisingly, the place is closed. But there is sign-up sheet which the Olympians get first, followed by Rex and Bob with Laura and Jackie. Second blessing is Ryan and Rob, Alain and Audrey plus Cormac and Nicole. Back of the pack are the Twins, the Dudes and the Siblings. Once teams receive their blessing they’ll have to climb 268 steps to the Tian Tan Buddha. They’ll have to search for their next clue.

The sun rises and the teams are blessed and enjoy the moment. Until they have to climb the steps. The Olympians, with their hockey playing thighs and calves, get up first. Find the Golden Dragon Statue on Hong Kong Island. As Gord says next to me, “that could be fun”. Laura and Jackie are second followed by Rex and Bob. More blessings, more climbing, and then grab a taxi. Rex and Bob pass the other teams and arrive to the statue first for a Detour:  Kung Fu Master or Master Chef.

In Master Chef you have to find the restaurant Bo Innovation where they’ll meet the Demon Chef, Alvin Leung, who looks like a cross between Roy Orbison and Johnny Ramone. Teams will have to get 10 ingredients from a shopping list needed to create a signature dishes. All must be bought at the massive Wan Chai market. In Kung Fu Master, teams must do some kung fu choreography. When Master Lee (man that’s a classic Kung Fu master name or what) is happy, you get a clue. I think Gord and Wayne would pick Master Chef cause we’re not good at dancing. Shopping I do almost every day. Wait let me ask Gord cause he’s sitting right here. Yep, chef it is.

Rex and Bob argue over which task they may quit but they decide on Chef. Laura and Jackie take chef, the Olympians consider using their Express Pass too early. But Rex and Bob argue in the cab. Rex doesn’t want to shop and I understand he might be better at Kung Fu because of his ballet experience but Bob works at a dentist. And Rex thought he’d be good at surfing and look what happened there.

Back to the climb, the second group of teams get their clue. Laura and Jackie arrive at the restaurant and Johnny Ramone Orbison yells at them. The girls search for an English speak. At the Kung Fu, Rex and Bob try but Bob’s getting confused. Yep that ballet thing’s not working again. There’s a commercial break but where are the Olympians? They said they would consider the Express Pass but that’s the last we saw of them.

Oh wait, there they are. And they use the Express Pass to get by. Man, that’s too early for my liking. Make your way to She Wong Lam restaurant on Hillier Street. I’m expecting something terrible to eat. More teams arrive at the Dragon. And Nicole can’t stop being a mom and demands Cormac to give her his hand so he can cross the street safely That’s funny stuff. Alain and Audrey also show up. Both teams select Kung Fu Master. Ryan and Rob are stuck in traffic. And they sound exactly the same. No variation in these guys, same reaction no matter what happens.

The Twins and the Dudes take Kung Fu while the Siblings take Chef. At the market, Laura and Jackie search for their items, one of them includes maple syrup.  Rex and Bob try out their show but fail. Mom and Son show up and try it very quickly, yelling at each other. But yelling doesn’t help. The Olympians seem to be lost.

Alain and Audrey do it but despite his black belt, he hits her. Fail. Siblings go get their ingredients. And that’s where Laura and Jackie are, confused about what they are getting. Lucky for them, a stranger helps them out. And Ryan and Rob finally make it to Master Lee, realizing they are in last. Mom and Son try again. Yep, it’s a win for them. Nice work. I really like Nicole because for once a mother admits that yelling helps. They are off to the restaurant.

More searching for ingredients, while the Olympians get a cab and find the place. It’s a Roadblock and not a pretty one. The dude at the restaurant will show you a snake, then pull out its gall bladder and squeeze out the bile. And that’s what you have to drink. I wonder what happens to the rest of the snake? And obviously that’s Gord’s task cause he says he’s feeling thirsty. After eating the shot, they enjoy a bowl of snake meat soup. Ahh, that’s what’s happened to the snake. At least the meat is fresh. Kudos for Jon to try it. But not for me. I do it if I had to but I’d get Gord on it first.

Natalie takes it on, seems to be keen in the beginning but until she sees what it is, there’s a bit of green on her face. Should have used the Express Pass for this. But she’s a hockey play and takes the shot with ease. But the snake soup seems a bit tougher. Although she’s done fast. Now to find the Avenue of the Stars and find the Bruce Lee statue.  Once there, a “director” will ask them to strike a couple poses (what is this, a Madonna video?).

Back at Kung Fu, the Twins fails and yell at each other in French sounded a bit like these guys. More teams try and fail. Rex and Bob are on their sixth try, but finally pass, and are in third place. Back at the market more searching for ingredients and as Gord predicted, the maple syrup is the tough one. And Mom and Son show up at the restaurant and Nicole decides to do. Come on Cormac, your mom can’t eat everything for you. This dude maybe be young but Mom’s pulling all the weight here. Wisely, she tells him to stay quiet. And gets it done, again. Time to man up, Cormac.

Rex and Bob search for a cab while the Twins bang away again. They get done. So do the Dudes. Team Double A (Alain and Audrey) are struggling with Team R & R (Ryan and Rob) get done.  Double A discuss switching but wisely decide to stick it out. And they get done. Off to the snake restaurant. The Chef teams are still looking for stuff although Laura and Jackie get the syrup. But they get some wrong ingredients and are sent back out. Oops. Maybe the Kung Fu was better.

The Olympians arrive at Bruce Lee and have to make some silly moves. Man, that was a waste of a time task. Off to the Kowloon Walled City Park for the pitstop. The Dudes and the Twins arrive at Hillier Street, but both seemed lost. The Twins, though, get some help and see the place right across the street. And while the Dudes are just down the block, the Twins don’t rush across the block. They gesture the other way, sending the Dudes down the wrong path. And the Dudes believe them and walk away, giving the Twins time to rush across, get the clue and decide which one eats. I don’t know which one it was, but then again, neither does Gord.

And now R & R show up and go with the Dudes towards the restaurant. But the Twins stand in a doorway, so the Dudes will look at them instead of the clue box across the street . And then they gesture the other way. Classic misdirection So the Dudes go where the Twins tell them. Smart move by the Twins, not so smart by the Dudes. Finally, the Dudes figure it out but seem kind of annoyed. Good to see some personality from these teams, especially the Twins who know how to play the game. The Dudes, not so much. So quick feeding by one of the Twins who are off to find Bruce Lee.

Quick show of Cormac and Nicole and then to the Olympians  at the mat. For the third time in a row, they are first. They win trip anywhere Air Canada flies in China. Gonna be tough to beat these girls. They’ll either make a big mistake or have to be U-Turned. But now they don’t have the Express Pass and still have to give the other one away. The Dudes finish up pretty quick with R & R do the same. Rex and Bob watch. Cormac and Nicole finish second. Good for them. Thank your mom, Cormac, she’s doing all the work. Hope she still doesn’t do your laundry.

And oh yeah, teams are still looking for ingredients. And Laura and Jackie finally get done. Doesn’t look good for the Siblings, even though they find the final ingredients. So off to the restaurant where Bob is eating the stuff. He gets done and they are told to walk. Alain also takes on the snake task. Off they go, but in a cab. Rex and Bob could have made a mistake. But Rex meets someone who knows him. And they get into a cab.

At the Bruce Lee statue, Ryan and Rob finally show some life and the rest of the teams head to the pit stop. Laura and Jackie can’t get a cab while the Siblings arrive at the snake restaurant. Sukhi eats the snake (“is it Gluten Free,” she asks) while Jinder acts like a little baby. Dude, you’re not eating the thing so stop making it worse for your sister.

At the mat, the Twins are third, Laura and Jackie, the vegetarians, have to eat the snake bile.  Rex and Bob yell. Then Ryan and Rob end up in 4th, the Dudes in 5th, Alain and Audrey in 6th, Rex and Bob are 7th (no quitting this time). Now it’s the final two and though they look close, it could be the editing. It’s Sukhi and Jinder in 8th with Laura and Jackie at the end. And they are eliminated. And it’s not completely surprising because once again, just like they did with Jen and Shawn, they gave a bit of Laura and Jackie’s backstory at the beginning of the episode. And that’s a classic sign of a team being eliminated. Little disappointed in the producers in pulling out this classic but obvious Amazing Race trope.

Next week, the race stays international although they stay in the same general area, heading to Macau. Stay tuned for more stuff from Gord and Wayne HQ, including an interview with Laura and Jackie, Cory Mitic’s view as well as our video recap, which we might shoot from a local bar. Off we go.

This post, along with interviews with eliminated teams, commentary from Cory Mitic and video recaps, was also posted at http://amazingracecanwithgordandwayne.weebly.com