Episode 7
Woah Nelly that was action packed!
Goldfish Market
The first thing we did when we got our clue was to give Tania and Ida money for the next leg. This was a tradition that we knew of from the previous Races… We opened the clue and went to the Goldfish Market in Mong Kok to pick up 2 goldfish each. They were very interesting, oddly shaped and rather large goldfish… not the ones you typically think of. We had then returned back to Hong Kong side and went to the fish store in Sheung Wan. The store was not open yet so we decided to rest and go to a nearby hotel for some shut-eye. In the morning we went to the fish store and all the teams except Tania and Ida were there... We queued up first in line and exchanged our fish for the clue. Travel to Macau Our clue asked us to travel to Macau by ferry. I knew we were in Sheung Wan and so the Ferry Terminal was close by… but I wasn’t’ exactly which would be faster… We initially flagged a taxi down and I think the other teams saw us… but we decided to run to the terminal when I realized that we were only a few blocks away. We were able to get onto the next ferry to Macau within 15 mins of leaving the fish store. At Macau we were we had to take a pedicab to Senado Square to get our next clue. We looked for a “stronger” driver because we knew that we would be getting him to go as fast as he could. The clue box was easily visible as it was in the middle of the square. Macau Tower The clue directed us to Macau Tower and there was a caution that there was a “Yield” ahead. We quickly grabbed a taxi and headed over to the Tower. In the taxi we contemplated how the yield would affect the game.
Commentary ---
Now apparently the next few events that happened have caused quite a stir with the people watching when it was shown on TV…. And I’ll add my thoughts to each of them
On screen we were shown to have said “ We would yield our direct competitors and they shall remain nameless…. And it’s not advantageous to yield them at this point in time and show our hand completely…” I will tell you all right now that there were more than one teams who we thought were direct competitors for whatever reason. Yes we did get along with everybody but it was a RACE… now… That clip that was shown was purposely used to set up a clip for later… we definitely had a lot of thoughts that were not shown about different scenarios with regards to the yield… but regardless our main objective when using a Yield would be to create distance between us and another team to either allow us to “win that leg” or not be eliminated…. knowing that we had yet to do a task this leg and that we had to go to Macau tower as well as knowing that Tania and Ida would be very far behind us… we decided to NOT use the Yield on ANYONE…. ( I thought we would be bungee jumping and yielding somebody would not make a real difference since it was early in this leg and if it was bungee jumping --- it could be done only one at a time anyway… there would be a lot of time wasted in queuing up in line for the next person and the yield wouldn’t do much).
Now the next clip regarding the yield showed Geoff and Tish saying “ I just hope that strategy wise that the Hong Kong boys have yielded someone… hopefully not US…. cause they would think that WE were far behind… “ (That in itself says that they were not sure what we were planning to do.. including possibly yielding them) When we opened the clue we realized that it probably wasn’t’ bungee jumping since it read “Who wants to climb the tower of success” I decided to do it since I thought that it would probably a physically demanding task. I had to climb the tower’s mast … all the way to the TOP to receive the next clue. Apparently the tower is the 10th tallest tower in the world…. I got geared up and ready to go. It really was a physically demanding task as the climb was up multiple ladders inside and then outside the tower. It just seemed to be never ending! The outside part of the climb was quite scary since you’re extremely high up on the mast and if I remember correctly there is just one safety clip between our harness and the ladder. As well the person giving me the clue was shaking the mast so that it would move!!! FREAKY!!!! Now while I was climbing there was drama brewing down in the waiting area….
Geoff and Tish had apparently yielded Henry and Bernie… then….
When Tish told Sam … Sam gave her a “high five” and said “that’s cool”… Sam has reflected on this action in his blog already …see part of it below:
Sam:
Was I really happy to see Bernie & Henry being yielded? No. My reaction was over-done. When Geoff said that they had yielded a team, I had fully expected them to yield Henry & Bernie (which I believe wasn't personal; it was a strategic move. Bernie & Henry ARE really a very strong team; why yield a physically weaker team? hopefully, they will really see that it's a compliment). So when Tisha revealed that it was really Bernie & Henry who were yielded, I was so excited at my right prediction that I high-fived Tisha. I wasn't so much excited at the fact that Bernie & Henry got yielded, but more excited at my correct prediction. And so upon hindsight, appearing happy was probably stupid & I don't EVEN remember ever doing that until i saw it on TV - because it can be interpreted in wrong ways.
Dragonboat The next task we needed to paddle a dragon boat around a buoy to receive our next clue. I am really competitive and just want to get things done. I was extremely tired from climbing the mast and then we had to paddle a dragon boat with only two people around a buoy. I was irritated because you must work as a team and paddle together with the oars entering the water at the same time… that’s why there is a drummer so that you could keep the same pace and be efficient but Sam wasn’t keeping with the beat. I have paddled dragon boat before so I got into that mindset and did what we used to do by shouting and chanting together and then to add energizing words like “Pump It Up !!!” … Sam thought I was getting down on him so he shouted back at me… with some words that got BLEEPED hahaha! I’m not the only one now with the BLEEPED WORDS HAHA!! He realized that he was wrong later ...haha..
When we finally returned to the dock we got our next clue.
Detour We had to go to the Casino to play Blackjack and win 9 hands to spell the word COMPLETED. I thought that the casino would be easier to find than the Pagoda and that when leaving we would be able to get a taxi easily too… As well, winning 9 hands of Blackjack is quite easy… ( I have played before and I know the strategies to win… PLUS I’ve watched SWINGERS ----- "always double down on 11 !!! " HAHA ) When we got there we had to put on “Formal” wear before starting. It was quite easy to play and it was a nice change to dry off inside. We also thought that it would be funny to change the costumes and names around on Henry and Bernie ( the only reason that we did this was because we were friends with them not because we didn't like them ...and I knew that they would appreciate the JOKE and think that it was funny… AND THEY DID …… YOU CAN SEE HENRY AND HEAR BERNIE LAUGHING..... We would have done that to GEOFF AND TISH too but we knew that they went to do the lion dance.)
Chinese Zodiac and Pit-Stop We had to travel to the Ah Mah cultural centre Colane island in Macau to find our next clue. It was POURING RAIN and there were NO TAXIS... and we even flagged some down that declined our business. When we go there we realized that it was the pit-stop but before entering it we had complete the CHINESE ZODIAC first. Neither of us memorized the Zodiac but we had enough clues and also enough knowledge of our friends and family’s Zodiac characters that we were able to do it in two tries. We only got mixed up with one of the animals actually. 2nd place….I’m content with our placing but that TV and PS3 sure looked SWEET !!!! DAMN… so close!!!
….watch to see what happens next episode...it will be intense, Thursday night on AXN!
VMC
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