First clue for the Mormons is to make their way to the Dutch Museum in Colombo and search the Hall of Headstones (is that an awesome name or what?) for their next clue. Since they're leaving at 2:59 am, it's pretty obvious the museum will be closed and all the teams will catch up. Dave says nice things about his dad and vice versa. The Country Singers are out about 30 minutes later, followed by the Cowboys a couple minutes behind. The Afghanimals are out and they talk about how they haven't won a leg yet. Still early boys, maybe less celebrating and clowning and more focus. Or better yet, play your game, the sneaky one that got you so far last time.
And yes, the museum is closed. And by the time it's opened, all the teams are there. They rush around, some get run over, but the guy hands out the clues one by one. Teams have to travel by train toe Alawwa, Sri Lanka. Not that far, only about 64 kilometres. Then they have to get to a Ceypetco gas station for the next clue. Everyone runs for the train. Everyone gets on the train. More shots of the landscape. Nice comments from the teams.
But the tranquility of the train ends as they all rush out for the gas station. It's a Roadblock: Who Wants to Fill 'Er Up. Teams must pick a colour, then search amongst several hundred Tuk-tuks for only 4 with their colour on the windshield. Then they gotta bring these 4 Tuk-tuks to the gas station and fill them up. Wow, that's a cool task. A combination of needle in the haystack with some tough work in which you've got to keep your cool while being assertive.
Rachel takes it green. That's a nice way to test her mettle, to see if she can keep things under control. So far she's been good but it's the middle of the race, looks hot and she could be tired. Jamal is on it as well as Dave. He comments that he used to work in a gas station when he was 16. Me too. Probably some kind of right of passage for guys who grew up in the 70s. That's when you could fill up your beater for only $5. With leaded gas.
John, Big Easy, Caroline and Cord also take on the Roadblock. Let's all enjoy the mayhem. And total mayhem it is. Jamal finds a couple of them right off the bat but Rachel thinks she only has to get green Tuk-tuks, not ones with Green Tags (Side Note, the term Green tags used to be a colloquial term journalists in Edmonton used to denote crazy folks who call the newsroom about UFOs, stuff like that). So maybe it's fitting for Rachel to take this. But come on, here we are again, in the middle of the race with teams who have been around before and still, NOT READING THE CLUE! Sigh.
And she blocks the way, filling up a bunch of incorrect Tuk-tuks. Jamal gets his first done while Dave notices that Rachel is doing it wrong. Smartly, he says nothing. Jamal gets his second done. The mayhem continues. Regardless of this, I think this would a fun task to do. Dave tries to get all his Tuk-tuks in a row to do them all at once. And starts playing hard for an old guy, making room for his Tuk-tuks, shoving the young folks aside. Way to go Dave. Exactly how I would play. This is why these guys are one of the top teams.
As Cord gets his Tuk-tuks to back into the pump, the teammates watching are having a great time. "This is frickin' awesome," says Jet, echoing my sentiments exactly. One of the best TAR tasks ever. Big Easy and Caroline get one each while Dave and John argue. Cord gets one. Rachel thinks she's finished but time for the big surprise. No moving on for her. She opens up the clue but still can't figure out what she did wrong. Brendan starts on her, which isn't a good thing. She starts to freak out and continues to do the same thing she's been doing before. Not smart. READ. THE. CLUE.
John gets his second, Big Easy's done his third. And then stupidly, John tells Rachel what she's doing wrong. Why do some teams do that? If someone's doing a task wrong, you just let them continue on their way. Don't help them. So finally, she reads the clue correctly. Nice work, John. If Gord ever did that, I'd give him a slap across the back of the head. And I would expect he'd do the same to me. So John and Jamal get their third ones while Big Easy tosses his backpack to Flight Time. Not sure why he was still wearing it. Maybe as protection cause it's getting really crazy with all the Tuk-tuks flying in to the gas station. Just like the 70s during the energy shortage.
And Big Easy is the first one done. They must travel by train to Rambukkana which is only 30 or kilometres away. I hope there's more than one train because it would suck for teams to all pile up after such a great task. There has to be some advantage for getting done first. Then they have to take at Tuk-tuk (What else?) to the Millennium Elephant Foundation. Then search the river for the next clue. Jamal and John get done and chase after the Globetrotters. Rachel is only on her first and the train leaves in 12 minutes. Will some teams be left behind?
Cord, Dave and Caroline are done. Those teams race to the train, leaving Big Brother alone at the gas station. Brendan tries to be positive as the train leaves in five minutes. She gets done and they run just as the train rides up. And they get on. Aww, that's too bad. I blame John who told Rachel she was doing the task wrong. If he would have let her just continue she would still be at the gas station while the train was gone. They'd be eliminated for sure. Two major mistakes by two separate teams. At least she kept her cool.
Again, teams rush out of the train and get on Tuk-tuks. This should be fun, sort of a Formula One but with Tuk-tuks. Best to just enjoy the ride and not worry. Some great camera and editing work in this bit. Teams arrive and find the clue. A Detour. In Trunk, teams pick a piece of marked timber, correctly attach a custom chain for the elephant to lift and carry. They have to load six logs into a truck, three by the elephant, three by the team. In Sheets, teams get to make paper with elephant crap. Uhh, I think Trunk is the way to go. Paper making seems a little more detailed and longer. But there's only four chains so only four teams can do Trunk. Better start running.
The Cowboys, the Mormons, the Afghanimals and J & J get the chains. Everyone else must do sheets. So the Cowboys are pretty confident with the chain while the other teams have a bit of trouble. Flight Time doesn't complain about not getting the task they want and starts shovelling elephant crap with his hands. So Big Easy joins in. Big Brother do the same. Maybe this one might be the faster one. Although the Cowboys get the chain on it and start moving.
Afghanimals also get the chain while the Mormons and J & J have it too loose. The other teams are at the pressing stage and this could be the hard part. The Cowboys get their first big log followed quickly by the Afghanimals. The other teams get their chain approved and start their first log. The other teams don't do the paper correctly. Big trouble. But the Globetrotters watch the demo again and get a page done. More logs are carried and loaded. The Globetrotters get three pages while the other Sheets teams are still stuck. But only for a bit. Pages are made.
The Cowboys, though, are the first team done. Travel by taxi to Amberpussa Rest House let your ears guide you to the wise man. Afghanimals chase after them. So do J & J while Dave and Conner are still working on their logs. Flight Time tries a little dance to sway the judge but it doesn't work. Should have just done the task instead of playing around. The Mormons are getting a cab for the wise man. They get info saying only three teams have left so they feel better about being last for Trunk. Globetrotters get done.
Leo and Jamal's cab makes a great move and passes the Cowboys just as they get to the rest house. But the Cowboys seem to have better hearing and find the wise man. He gets them up on his treehouse to listen. Very nice. Then it's off to Mount Lavina Hotel Beach, the pitstop. It's a race and the Afghanimals' cabbie seems to be a faster driver. And he blows by them. Back and forth it goes. J & J get their clue as Big Brother is done, leaving the Country Singers in last place. But not by much. More racing. Pretty much at this point it's only important who gets in first and who gets in last.
Even so, the cabbies driving the Mormons and the Globetrotters are brothers, and they're going to race. Just enjoy the ride. Traffic seems intense and various scenes of teams racing through it, trying to get to the pitstop. The Afghanimals bring out their sneaky side and ask a Tuk-tuk to block the Cowboys. I commend that move. I also commend the Afghanimals running across the tracks rather than taking the overpass. And it pays off because they beat the Cowboys by only a few steps. See, playing their natural style pays off cause they win a trip to Berlin. Not a tropical place but a great place to go.
Back on the road, the Mormon's cabbie says the Globetrotters are going in the wrong direction. Even though it's his brother, the Mormon's tell him to say nothing. This is better, this is how you play the race, teams competing hard even for third and fourth, not helping each other. So J & J arrive just as the Mormons do. And they race. Dave lets them go which is a good move. They know they aren't last and he doesn't want to pop his ACL again. Just let the young kids have third. Fourth is fine.
Now, the Globetrotters have figured out they are going the wrong way (bad cab will kill you every time no matter how hard you play) as Big Brother arrive for fifth. But the boys make it before the Country Singers. Still, you'd expect these physical guys to be much better than second last. They are going to have pick up their game if they want to stay in much longer, especially since I think the Cowboys will be using their Express Pass very soon. So the Country Girls are last. Phil stalls, an obvious sign of non-elimination. So they get to stay. But with a Speed Bump next leg. All in all a great episode, fun to watch, would have been fun to participate in.
Next week, teams are in Rome, and the gladiator task looks like loads of fun. See ya then. And look for Gord and me to do our video blog recap in a couple of days. I still have a cold but should be fine. Also, if you want, follow me on twitter at @waynthurson.