The Amazing Race 5, Episode 10 – Sledging, Zorbing and Yielding in Auckland (I Was Confused Too)

First off, before I do anything else, let me send a HUGE thank you to Sting7 and Jeffrey Clinard for covering the race for me over the past two weeks. Two weeks ago, it was expected – I went to Vegas! Last week, my computer decided to go on vacation as well, since it basically shut down on me! Anyway, just wanted to explain my longer than expected absence. I’m sure you missed me, and I would have loved to have shared my comments on Brandon & Nicole for the past two weeks. Oh well, I guess God gave my computer the virus it had, via Brandon & Nicole. Second of all, there’s been a new, long-awaited induction to the Reality TV Hall of Shame, none other than Flo, one of the winners of The Amazing Race 3. Check out her induction article and relive the shame! And now, on with the recap! Let me quickly re-introduce you to the five teams that remain, in the order they will leave the Pit Stop:

• Colin & Christie – Dating/Might get engaged/Sentimental Favorites
• Chip & Kim – Married parents/Too nice for their own good sometimes
• Linda & Karen – Moms/Bowling partners/Sentimental Favorites
• Kami & Karli – Twin sisters/VERY lucky this whole race
• Brandon & Nicole (The Hypocrites) – Dating/Models/Born without original sin.

We begin in Calcutta, India, one of the most densely populated cities in the world. Located in Calcutta is the Victoria Memorial, an 80-year old monument honoring England’s Queen Victoria – which was the 9th Pit Stop in a race around the world. Teams have 12 hours to eat sleep and mingle, or in the Hypocrites’ case, beg for money since they were last on the last leg, and although they weren’t eliminated, they lost all their money and will receive none for this leg of the race. The basically walk around and ask people for money, telling them how embarrassed they are to do so.

Colin & Christie were the first team to arrive at 2:35 p.m., so they are the first to depart at 2:35 a.m. Colin opens the clue and is already happy. He tells Christie they are to fly to Auckland, New Zealand. Once there, they have to drive 220 miles to the Rotorua Museum. In order to get to New Zealand, they must first go to a nearby travel agency because in India, laws won’t let people travel out of India by plane by buying their tickets at the airport. Christie says that heading to New Zealand is a moral boost, but she and Colin need to learn how to be okay with things when they go their way. Yes, you’re actually supposed to learn that in first grade. Oh my God, did I just snap at a Sentimental Favorite? I believe I did!

Two minutes later, Chip & Kim leave the Pit Stop. They are both excited, but realize they have to be smarter because everyone is stepping up their game. They both realize that Colin & Christie are the biggest threats in the race right now, and will be nice to them to a point. We see more of the Hypocrites begging for money. I’m enjoying it. Colin & Christie, along with Chip & Kim, both get to the travel agency together and book tickets to Bangkok. Colin & Christie look for flights to Auckland, and have some success. Chip & Kim can’t find anything yet.

It’s now 3:25 and Linda & Karen are leaving the Pit Stop. They hate being at the bottom of the pack,and are on a mission now to help their position in the race. Brandon notes that they are having little success at begging for money. The first two teams get to the airport and find the terminal doesn’t open until 7 a.m., and it’s only 4 a.m. right now. The moms get to the travel agent and book the same flight to Bangkok that the other teams did. They say they’ll worry about getting to Auckland later. At 4:38 Karli & Kami leave the Pit Stop as well. They both state that they have to stay calm and get along better with one another. They quickly get to the travel agent, get on the flight to Bangkok with the rest of the teams, and a flight to Auckland as well via Quantus that arrives pretty late. They decide to hold the tickets and decide later if they will use them or not.

The last team to leave, the Hypocrites, does so at 6:07 a.m. We see the twins get to the airport with the other teams, and everyone is walking around trying to figure out what they are going to do. The Hypocrites book the same flight to Bangkok that everyone else did, and know they are going to have to hurry to the airport. They are also well aware that getting to Auckland will be the biggest factor this leg of the race. All the teams check in for their flight to Bangkok, while Chip & Kim and Colin & Christie head to Singapore Air to find a flight to Auckland. Colin & Christie arrive there first, and snag tickets to get them to Auckland first. Chip & Kim find there are no seats left, and Kim stays that it’s time for them to get more aggressive. The twins and moms are both busy looking for flights to Auckland as well. Brandon & Nicole finally arrive at the airport as we see Chip and Kim find a flight that will arrive 20 minutes after Colin & Christie in Auckland. The Hypocrites look for tickets now and stumble across the same ones Chip & Kim did – so they’ll both be on the same flight.