TAR:Aus 2 next week!

According to the Herald Sun. TAR Australia 2 starts next week, May 30! Then, we will finally see a new set of Aussies in action where they make their way to their first destination: The Philippines! I am so NOT going to miss this episode! I'm also going to recap the first episode and evaluate the teams (if I'm not feeling lazy).

See you next week! :-)

TAR 20 Finale

I know this may be a little late but the TAR 20 finale was probably one of the best finales in The Amazing Race history. The positions kept changing and a team got turned back from the finish line. What's not to like?

Also, better watch out for The Amazing race Australia 2 this month! WOOHOO!

Meet the Teams of TAR:AUS 2!

Sarah and James / Dating

They have a nine-year age gap and Sarah can't race without wearing make-up, heels and skirts. Seriously? Wouldn't be surprised if they go out early.

Donna and Kym - Married

Dave and Kelly 2.0 . Old married couple, badasses well, what else? Be rooting for them! Oh, wait, does she look like Jessie J or what?

Joseph and Grace / Siblings

Definitely going to be one of the most annoying bickering teams this season. 

Lucy and Emilia / Sisters

Sisters from Sydney with Italian heritage. Umm.. Alana and Mel 2.0? I hope so!

Jo and Michelle / Twin Cheerleaders

Twins AND Cheerleaders. Prepare for double trouble, guys.

 Paul and Steve / Workmates

Steve proclaims to having 'perceived arrogance'. I don't even know what hat means.

Shane and Andrew / Police Officers

Hmm...I have a good vibe from them. They also said they won a singing competition of some sort. *shrugs*

Sue and Teresa / Hippie Hairdressers

Hippies! Who doesn't love them? These two think they're the "Earth mothers" of the race. 

Sticky and Sam / Bestfriends

What kind of name is Sticky?! Anyway, they're both sports fans and on the look for lurve. Well, good luck with that, mate.

Adam and Dane / Cousins

Their mission in the race is for Adam to drive without looking at his reflection in the mirror. Whut?

Tarryn and Ross / Daughter & Father

A father/daughter team! These type of teams always manage to stay long in the race. Hope the 'blessing' works for them too.

All photos belong to Yahoo!7 

Amazing Race Australia 2

Australia is back with a new season! Well, sorry if I mysteriously stopped recapping last season's episodes (people get lazy sometimes), but I'll be back in a few weeks! I'll also show the teams when the producers officially release their bios. Adios!

Amazing Race Australia Episode 3 Recap

Another week has begun and TAR Australia is here to start your week. Okay, so ten teams remain on the race with siblings Ryot and Liberty out last week. Teams are now in Hue,Vietnam and they need to get out of there ASAP before I get sick of watching the same places for TAR:Asia.

Surfers Nathan & Tyler are the first to depart at 11:07 p.m. They open their clue and they are headed to...... Hong Kong!!! Ugh. I don't hate Chinese people or China but I think the race needs to go to other countries. China's great, but yeah. Farmers and Chris & Anastasia follow the surfers closely. Well, other teams follow behind actually. Sam and Renae talk about going to Hong Kong and about not knowing where it is. Pffft. Sam (or Renae) said maybe it was in Singapore. Pfffft (again). I just had to give a laugh at them being do dead serious, but these girls are one of faves. All teams managed to get on the same flight and off they go!

When they land, teams must make their way to the Jumbo floating restaurant and bite into hundreds of fortune cookies until they find the right fortune telling them to receive their next clue.

Jumbo Floating Restaurant 

All teams grab a cab and leave. Jeff & Luke seem to have problems with cab drivers but eventually get into one. Mo & Mos, Nathan & Tyler, Jeff & Luke, Dave & Kelly, and Sam & Renae got into the first boat with Dave's leg aching like hell which pissed him off (although he DID admit that he was being overacting). Chris & Anastasia missed the first boat by a second but the boat didn't stop for them as Dave was having a riot with the driver. So the first five teams munched their way though reading every fortune they opened. Minutes later, the second boat arrived with Chris & Anastasia and Alana & Mel on it. No obutne still got the right fortune as the third boat arrived carrying the last teams: Anne-Marie & Tracy, Mo & Mos and Joey & Richard (who got lost). 

Jeff & Luke reading their fortune

Then, one thing shocked me. Richard and Joey, who were the last to arrive there, got it first! What!? Okay, so I know this was just about luck but still! Major ugh. They get their next clue and they see a Detour and a Fast Forward. Instinctively, they go for the FF since they are the first ones out. Mo & Mos (a.k.a. Momos) quickly follow and chose the Fast Forward hoping to win it and get first on this leg. Well, that works for me, it's only down to luck at transportation then. Surfers, Jeff & Luke and sisters got their fortunes right and they all choose the Detour. It was a choice between Lion Dance or Kung Fu Stance. In Lion Dance, teams had to dress up and perform a traditional lion dance to the satisfaction of the lion dance master. In Kung Fu Stance, teams had to perform a series of precise Kung Fu movements to the satisfaction of the Kung Fu master, then break six clay tiles before receiving their next clue. Nathan & Tyler and Jeff & Luke choose to do Kung Fu Stance while Alana & Mel choose Lion Dance. Anne-Marie & Tracy, Dave & Kelly, Matt & Tom and Sam & Renae chose to do Kung Fu Stance while Chris & Anastasia chose to dance. 

Kung Fu Stance

Meanwhile, Joey and Richard just arrived at the Fast Forward location, reads their FF clue and poof! It tells them to shave their heads. Joey excitedly said she'll do it. Bah. Whatever. 

Joey getting her head shaved

They finish the task in a matter of seconds and they're out! They're now headed to the Pitstop which is a relief to me as they won't be seen anywhere in the remaining minutes of the show. 

Richard and Joey after shaving their hair

Mo and Mos just got into the FF location and read that the FF's already been taken. Dang. Now they have to go back all the way to the Detour location. Skip, skip and Richard & Joey just arrived at A Ma Cultural Village which is the Pitstop for this leg. Ugh. They won 10,000 A$. K. Whatever. Back at the Detour, all teams are now performing the tasks together with Dave having a hard time learning Kung Fu. Eventually, all teams at the Kung Fu task got their clues and are now headed to Macau. Anne-Marie and Tracy had a hard time learning the stances that they had to switch tasks. Mel & Alana and Chris & Anastasia got their dances correctly and are also on the same boat with the rest of the teams. That leaves the Big W girls and the Momos in last place.

Matt and Tom breaking clay tiles

 After arriving in Macau, the seven teams raced to the Venetian Macau where they'll have to play a game of Baccarat and must win a couple of rounds to receive letters which will form as their next destination. Jeff & Luke are mesmerized by Macau's beauty and walked slowly to take it all in. I mean, who wouldn't? Okay, teams play the card game (I don't know how it works) but the girl teams got it quickly and off they go to A ma Cultural Village. 

Teams playing Baccarat

Skip skip blah blah. Teams struggle at the Roadblock as they had to arrange the lanterns with pictures of the 12 zodiac animals in order for the gate to the pitstop to open. Mel & Alana got there first and Mel did the Roadblock (again!). Ugh. Alana's really scared when it comes to solo tasks. They helped the surfers along the way and got to the mat in second and third places respectively. The last three teams at the task were the models, big W ladies, and Momos. After getting frustrated in the task, Sam & Renae decided to use the Express Pass and proceed to the Pitstop before they get in last. Goodbye EP!

Mos solving the Roadblock

So it's down to the last two: Momos and Big W ladies. After a lot of struggling, Mos took the 4 hour penalty and had to sit through it while Anne-Marie was also having problems of her own. As the girls stepped on the mat, I was relieved that they made it before the Momos' time was up until....Grant asked them if they took the penalty too. Which they answered, "yes". WHAT!????? Which means Momos are safe and one of my favorites are gone. Sniff. That's it for this week folks, come back next week after I mourn for the loss of the best team ever.

Order of Finish:

Richard/Joey

Mel/Alana

Nathan/Tyler

Kelly/Dave

Matt/Tom

Jeff/Luke

Anastasia/Chris

Sam/Renae (Express Pass used)

Mo/Mos

Anne-Marie/Tracy (eliminated)

The Son of Neptune killed me

Yes. You heard me. The second book from the Heroes of Olympus series killed me this morning. I woke up in a bad mood (again) for my cousin was hammering mad just outside my window. So I jumped out of bed with my eyes puffy and my temper high and marched my way outside to rant on everyone. Okay, I didn't do that. Why the heck would I? They're fixing the roof and I couldn't make them leave with half the roof still open. Okay, so I opened my PC and checked my Twitter, Facebook, blah blah blah until...... I saw the cover of THE SON OF NEPTUNE!!!

Tada!!!! I know, awesomesauce!

 I don't know why but I like it better than The Lost Hero. 

So what do you say?

Anyway, I also read the first chapter of The Son of Neptune and voila! Percy's back, baby! Yes! You heard me again. Although I thought the sneak peek was too short (10 pages only) but I had to admit it was exciting! 

October 4, 2011 is the date of its release and I, along with the others, am busy sitting in the corner waiting for the months to pass. Just wake me up when September ends. ;) Cool! It fits!

Amazing Race Australia Episode 2 Recap

Another exciting episode if TARAus is here! Last week, teams traveled from Melbourne, Australia to Lombok, Indonesia where they participated in a ricecake throwing ritual, scuba diving and counting a million bills. Mo and Mos survived elimination last week and need to check in first place this week or incur a 30-minute penalty. Recap time!

Sam and Renae were the first ones to leave the pitstop were models Sam and Renae. They open their first clue and it tells them to fly to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. Fly people, fly! On the other thought, Vietnam? Ugh. I've watched 3 consecutive races with Vietnam as a destination already so I'm safe to say, "I just hope they pass by it".
All teams followed and Mo and Mos are worried about the 30-minute penalty they have if they don't check in first. All the teams are at the airport and Chris called Anastasia and "idiot" which caused a fight between themselves. Pffffffft!!! I've been called an idiot my entire life and all I did was cut their heads off. No need to cause a scene. All right, teams booked their flights and I was surprised that there were 4 separate flights to Ho Chi Minh City. Really?! If this was the U.S. version, teams would sneak behind the other teams and checked the flights they booked. Yeah, whatever so back to the scene.

Turns out, Sam & Renae, Ryot and Liberty and Chris & Anastasia got on the same direct flight to Ho Chi Minh City and is the first plane to arrive. I was, once again, surprised on how those two bickering lovebirds got on the same plane with the first two teams. Meanwhile Alana & Mel, Mo & Mos and the surfers get on the same plane due to arrive second. Bikers Dave & Kelly were lone rangers on the plane due to arrive third via KL or is it Singapore? While the rest of the teams get on the same flight due to arrive last.
The frist three teams got an early lead and are now headed to the Saigon Opera House and find the lady with their names written on her fan.

Sibling Ryot and Liberty finding their name on the correct fan

I found myself laughing sometime at this task when teams where calling out, "Oh Miss Saigon! Where are you?". After hearing "Miss Saigon", I was actually thinking of Lea Salonga. Haha. Yeah, whatever. 

Models got the right fan first, followed by Dating tam and the siblings. Now they're off to Hue, Vietnam! What? Only 30 minutes in Ho Chi Minh and they're off to some other place? Ok. I buy that. 

So teams arrive from different flights and all of them killed it. Well, except for Richard and Joey who were the last ones out. I don't like them anyway, so who cares?

The first three teams' flight got delayed which means they'll all be on the same flight to Hue! Yes! Finally! I want all teams to be bunched up together and have a tight fight! So when they arrive, they head to Tran Thanh Mai Garage where they encounter Hours of Operation. Yep, I knew this was coming having watched the third season of the Asian version. So teams get some rest for a big day ahead of them.

The next day, all teams are prepared to kick some butt and ready to die. So when the gate opens, all teams push one another and cause some stampede. Poor cameraman. They didn't have to cause a stampede as they'll only be a second away from each other. Ha!

Their next task is to change a car's tire and oil. Everybody did it right with the father-son team Jeff & Luke ahead. They rip open their clue and....Detour! Carry Fowl or Carabao. In Carry Fowl, teams must gather twenty live chickens and carry them (the traditional way - on their shoulder) to a designated retailer in a nearby market. In Carabao, teams had to choose a marked field and use an ox-drawn plow to till the soil, until the plow caught on a buried rope attached to a hidden clue. Jeff & Luke choose Carabao and off they go. Sam & Renae seem to have some mental blocks and did they tire-changing task in 10th place where the entrepreneurs finish last (again). Here are the list of teams who chose to do Carry Fowl: Surfers, Bikers, Farmers, the "Mos", models and entrepreneurs. The rest did the carabao. Dave pronounced it as "ca-ra-bo-wa) which made me snicker again. 

Joey changing tires

Teams who did Fowl finished it quickly and even managed to get ahead of those at the Carabao task. Surfers are now in the lead followed by farmers and dating couple. Jeff & Luke lost their lead as they stumbled in the mud finding for the marked flag. In the end, only Chris & Anastasia and Jeff & Luke did the Carabao task successfully while others had to switch. 

Jeff & Luke plowing 

Nathan and Tyler are now headed to Khải Định Tomb where they find a Roadblock. Who's in line for a king's ransom? In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to retrieve seven coins representing the seven emperors of the Nguyễn Dynasty in Vietnam at the tomb of Minh Mạng, bring them back to Khải Định Tomb and put the coins in the correct order of the reign of the emperors. Nathan volunteered to do the task. So now the three leading teams are the surfers, dating team and farmers. Anastasia and Tom did the task. The remaining teams started to arrive one by one with the Mos, Models, Bikers, Entrepreneurs and Jeff & Luke. Mo, Sam, Kelly, Joey and Mo did the task. While the bottom three teams appear to be Anne-Marie and Tracy, sisters and siblings. 

Anastasia doing the Roadblock

After a lot of going back and forth, Anastasia completes the Roadblock first with the surfers and farmers just seconds behind her. All three were now headed to the pitstop! Yay! 3 way race! Anastasia & Chris got lost while Nathan & Tyler come in first! Great job! Farmers come in second and Chris & Anastasia come in fourth. 

Meanwhile, the bottom three have just arrived at the tomb and Tracy, Mel and Ryot do the task. All teams were confused and tired of this task and I was just bored. Mo & Mos checked in fourth but had a 30 minute penalty for not coming in first. Jeff & Luke had a footrace to the pitstop with Sam & Renae but the father and son checked in fourth and the models in fifth. Back at the tomb, Joey is pissed off that no one wants to work with her. Get lost baby kangaroo! Bikers checked in at 6th place and Mo and Mos in 7th. They dropped 3 places which isn't good. Only 4 teams remain and Tracy got it on her first try and got to the pitstop in 8th place. Mel was looking confused so Joey offered to help (no! resist temptation!) and she happily accepted. Darn. Mel got it right and Joey was begging for the answers so Mel gave it to her (sucker!). Ryot was all alone now as Joey gave Mel & Alana a 2 minute leeway for them to get ahead. Unfortunately, Richard and Joey's taxi driver was driving at the speed of light and managed to pass the sisters which made Mel mad. Cut her head off Mel! So the entrepreneurs checked in 9th and the sisters in 10th. 

Ryot and Liberty cam in last and were eliminated. Ok, I'm darn tired and need to finish this. Liberty cried at the pitstop, blah blah blah, THE END. 

Stay tuned next week as teams get more tensed with each other in HK! Yay!