TARA 3: Congratulations Sam & Vince

TARA 3: CONGRATULATIONS Sam & Vince...

Some of you will ask, what is "TARA 3"? Well it stands for "The Amazing Race Asia 3" which ended recently. The season premiered on September 11, 2008 and consists of 11 episodes, two episodes less than the first and second seasons. The season finale aired on November 20, 2008. This season had 20 teams racing across 4 continents covered 50,000 kilometres (32,023 miles) in 24 days. AND THE WINNER IS?


CONGRATULATIONS Sam and Vince!

My (oto-reviewer's) Thoughts:

This season's race was also known as "The Toughest Race Ever". I agree, BUT there's something missing from Season 2. Here's my series of questions:

1) Where is "Intersection (or 2 teams working together)?
2) Why ALL countries they went confined to Asia?
(Last Season at least they went to Czech Republic).
3)Why 5 eliminations in A ROW?

AND LASTLY,
4) WHY ARE THEY SO MANY CELEBRITIES in the Show? If you want celebrities, 2 teams will do. But here we have "TWO Ex-MISS UNIVERSE", TWO MODEL/ACTRESS (Ida and Bernie, the latter's 1990s Supermodel), TWO Stand-up comedians (Sam and Vince)... It's OVERLOADED with CELEBRITIES. Please GIVE CHANCES to the Public (in TARA 4), finger's crossed...

Overall, besides the above questions, I kinda enjoyed the Reality TV Show. But I missed "HILARIOUS" teams such as MARDY and MARSIO (M&M) (season 1) and MARC and ROVILSON (Season 2). The FORMER INSPIRED me as I'm their SIZE. If M&M can do bungee, I CAN, if they can dive, I can, if they can eat GROSS foods I CAN... Also the unforgettable quotes: "I like to eat but I select what I eat!" AND "Mardieee, Mardiee WAIT UP!".

Besides my ramblings, I dished out 2 articles from the web... Enjoy...

SOurce 2: Posted on November 20th, 2008 (2)

The stage is set for the final episode of The Amazing Race Asia 3 and it’s an exciting one! Almost eliminated twice in the race, can Ida and Tania sustain their lead to win it all? Will Geoff and Tish’s lack of good chemistry ruin their chance to be 1st? Can Sam and Vince catch up despite their 4-hour penalty?
Read on and find out.

Still in Muscat, Oman

Ida and Tania left the pit stop at 5:42 AM with Geoff and Tish trailing behind by ten minutes. Their first task is to drive to the Office of the Governorate of Muscat.
Upon reaching the site, they encountered an Hours of Operation for 8 AM. Not a problem since Sam and Vince are still hours behind.

Camel Crossing

Next task is for teams to drive to Said’s Camel Farm and transfer 10 camels into a holding pen.

Geoff and Tish were just following Ida and Tania. But they managed to get way ahead and still able to grab something to eat. Maybe Geoff and Tish stopped and ate somewhere?

At around 10 AM, Sam and Vince left the Pit Stop.
Ida and Tania were the first to arrive at the camel farm and finished the task even before other teams arrived.

ROADBLOCK: Locate Key

Teams must then drive to a nearby sandy area and a team member must use a metal detector under the scorching sun to locate a key buried in the sand that will unlock the clue box. There are only 7 correct keys out of 70 and the the sand is really hot.
While on their way, Ida and Tania already felt the heat of the sun and Ida even commented that she didn’t wish her worst enemy to be stuck under it.

Unknowingly, Geoff and Tish’s vehicle got stuck in the sand so Geoff did a lot of pushing to get them out. When they got to the farm, they quickly transferred the camels and head to the roadblock where they met and Sam and Vince along the way. Team Hong Kong’s catching up.

Tania did the roadblock and was clearly having trouble working under the heat. She even stopped to rest and get hydrated. Anyway, she found the correct key even before Geoff and Tish arrived.

Sticky Situation

After a few more difficultness maneuvering their vehicle, Geoff and Tish arrived at the roadblock. They saw Ida and Tania having trouble getting their vehicle out of the sand. They’re at a disadvantage because they lack the power to push their vehicle.

Tish did the roadblock. I wonder why she didn’t wear any gloves for the hot sand.
Back at the camels, Sam and Vince were unfortunate to be stuck with the most uncooperative camels of the bunch. The camels kept running around and dragging the boys who had a hard time with the task.

Tisha found the correct key and they quickly went to their next destination. They manage to overtook Ida and Tania who still can’t get their vehicle out of the sand.
Finally, the Malaysians asked help from the locals to help them with their vehicle and were on their way out as well. I wonder why they didn’t think of that at first?
On their way out, they saw Sam and Vince who also had the problem of being stuck in the sand.

Phuket Here We Come

Teams must then fly to Phuket, Thailand then travel by taxi to Sam Poh Kong Temple to get their next clue.

At the airport, Ida and Tania caught up with Geoff and Tish. There are only a few flights available from Oman going to Phuket so Ida and Tania took a gamble by flying to Dubai on an earlier trip and get a connecting flight from there.

Geoff and Tish took a flight that will take them to Dubai -> Bangkok -> Phuket. Geoff was disappointed when Sam and Vince managed to make the same flight as theirs.
In Dubai, Ida and Tania missed their connecting flight! Uh oh! They had no choice but to get another flight to Phuket via Singapore.

When their flight arrived at Phuket, Geoff and Tish got a head start from seating at the front. Geoff was getting cocky knowing that they’re number one. They arrived at the temple first and got their clue.

Sam and Vince were just minutes behind.

Ice Cold Task and Karma

Teams must get to the Thai Trade Food Ice Factory at the port in Siray Island. Once there, they have to search for a small Amazing Race ice cube buried in a barrel full of ice shavings.

Karma bit Geoff and Tish as their taxi driver told them that he didn’t know where the ice factory is.

Sam and Vince got to the factory first and were surprised to see three untouched barrels of ice. They quickly went on to the task and found the cube for their next clue before other teams arrived. They’re on the lead!

Get to Lam Hin Pier

Teams must make their way to Lam Hin Pier to get their next clue.
Sam and Vince were glad to be ahead but their driver told them that their taxi just ran out of fuel. Not near any gas station, their driver was able to call in a friend so they could transfer taxis. Whew.

Finally, Geoff and Tish got to the ice factory but were clearly frustrated at their driver. They found the cube and their clue and were glad that their driver knew where their next destination is.

Ida and Tania finally arrived at Phuket and rushed to get their clue.

Floating Fisherman

At Lam Hin Pier, teams must ride a long-tail boat and look for a marked fisherman fishing in the middle of the sea. He will give them their next clue.
Sam and Vince arrived first and had no problems getting to the fisherman. They got their clue and were on their way to the next task.
Geoff and Tish got to the pier and went out to the sea. Geoff who seems not to be bothered losing their lead took his time taking the clue from the fisherman. Arrrghhh, stop horsing around.

DETOUR: Pull or Plunge

Teams must make their way via the long-tail boat to a nearby beach for a detour.
In Pull, teams must kayak to a nearby oyster farm and pull the oyster lines till they find the marked shell. They will exchange the shell for their next clue back at the beach.

In Plunge, teams must snorkel and search for a giant clamshell with a pearl inside and exchange it for the clue.

Sam and Vince chose Plunge. When they started doing the task, they found out that it’s hard to search the murky water along with the strong current so they decided to switch to Pull.

We’re Done

On their way to the beach, Geoff and Tish chose to do Pull since Tish is not good in swimming. Geoff was confident that they can catch up with Sam and Vince if they chose to do Pull since he thought they would have a hard time with the kayak. He’s pretty confident with their kayak skills.

When they got to the beach, they saw that Sam and Vince were still at the oyster farm. They quickly got to the kayak but realized that rowing it was harder than they thought. They were just going in circles and even flipped their kayak.

They gave up rowing for a while with Geoff’s temper flaring up. Geoff even mentioned that they’re done. Done with their relationship or done with the race? Either way, they just gave up. Sheesh.

Sam and Vince found the marked shell while Geoff and Tish are still stuck in their kayak. Geoff and Tish got dejected when they saw Sam and Vince heading back while they are still just sitting on their kayak.

Buried Treasure

Teams must get to nearby Rang Yai Beach and dig the sand for a buried treasure chest. They must then carry the chest towards the finish line.
Geoff and Tish eventually found the correct oyster shell and got their clue.
Ida and Tania knew that they were far behind so they just enjoyed the rest of the race. They efficiently did the ice task and then enjoyed the boat ride searching for the fisherman.

Sam and Vince had to do a lot of digging with their hands. The chest was buried deep in the sand and they had to clear lots of sand around it.

The editing crew made it look like that Geoff and Tish can still catch up. However, when they got to Rang Yai Beach, Sam and Vince are nowhere to be seen. Or are the buried treasure locations far apart from each other? Anyway, both Geoff and Tish are still not in speaking terms and they just went on digging.

Ida and Tania did the Plunge task which I think is the easier one. They were goofing around while snorkeling with Tania even lifting up an anchor. They just laughed when they saw that the giant clamshell was placed in shallow waters so there’s no need for swimming.

Towards the Finish Line

Sam and Vince were able to dig the chest out first and carry it towards the finish line where the other eliminated teams are waiting.

When they step on the mat, Allan declared that they’re the official winners of The Amazing Race Asia 3. Congratulations guys! You did well overcoming your disadvantage at the start of the race.

Meanwhile, Geoff didn’t allow Tish to help with the chest and just carried it all by himself towards the finish line for second place. He didn’t even allow Tish to kiss him on the lips and just presented his cheek.

Article From The Star: 21 November 2008 (1)

Malaysians Ida and Tania lose lead after missing flight in finals of Amazing Race Asia


BANGKOK: They may not have won The Amazing Race Asia 3 but Malay¬sians Ida Nerina and Tania Khan are still happy they made it to the finals.
The two, dubbed the actress and the heiress in the race, came in third in a heart-stopping and unpredictable finale.

The race was won by Sam Wu and Vince Chung from Hong Kong while Geoff Rodriguez and Tisha Silang from the Philippines came in second.

“I think it was only frustrating because we fell behind, not of our own doing but because of a third party. All our magical planning went to waste,” said Tania.
Tania and Ida were leading in the beginning but lost crucial time when they missed their flight to Phuket, the final destination of The Amazing Race Asia 3.

Previously, in The Amazing Race Asia 2, the Malaysian team consisting of sisters Pamela and Vanessa Chong came in second, and in the first season, Malaysians Joe Jer and Zabrina walked away as champions.

The two contestants from Hong Kong walked away with the US$100,000 (RM365,000) cash prize. Sam and Vince were overjoyed with their win.
“It’s out of this world and an experience money can’t buy,” said Vince.
“It’s been totally unbelievable and we’ve had such wonderful experiences,” said Sam.

The Amazing Race Asia 3 saw 10 teams from all over Asia participate in gruelling challenges, covering over 20,000km in more than seven countries, such as Vietnam, Taiwan, China, India, Oman and Thailand, where the race began and ended.

Rockin in Bangkok for the TARA3 Finale Party (3)
Rockin in Bangkok for the TARA3 Finale Party

Tuesday, Nov 25, 2008 4:59AM / Standard Entry

Even though I was unable to partake in the festivities and merrymaking this year at the Finale Party for The Amazing Race Asia, I'm happy to be able to see that everyone present had a rockin good time! Thanks to Marlene at AXN for sending me these pictures so that I can see how great everyone looks after they're all cleaned up once again!
Natalie definitely was back in Miss Universe mode after the race...

The top three teams always enjoy their special time together on stage to share about the entire experience...

...and don't forget to check out the "bump" on Tania, who's got a little "racer" on da way!
A lot of the teams from Season Two and Season One also arrived in Bangkok to partake in the festivities...



Then there's gotta be a group shot for all the teams from this season in the "Toughest Race Ever"...

Congratulations once again to Sam and Vince from Team Hong Kong. Like I said earlier, you two totally deserved every penny of the prize money!

During the night, it seems that Geoff couldn't keep his eyes--and hands--off the big check from AXN for one hundred thousand US Dollars...



...and even snuck off with it in the end!


I wonder if he tried to cash it too?!

REFERENCES:
(1) The Star online (for pictures and article)
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/
2008/11/21/nation/2609426&sec=nation

(2)Source Posted by a blogger named calvin:
http://www.calvinshub.com/2008/11/20/
the-amazing-race-asia-3-episode-11/
(3) http://www.alivenotdead.com/allanwu/blog.html(Allan Wu's blog)