Recap: The Amazing Race 15, Episode 4 – “I wish I could’ve been a better monkey for my teammate.”

Episode 15.04 – Sean Penn Cambodia, Here We Come
Miss the episode or want to watch it again?  Watch the full episode at CBS.com!

THE LEG

The fourth leg of The Amazing Race begins and teams must depart Vietnam and now make their way to Phnom Penh, Cambodia.  Once in Cambodia, teams must then head to the Foreign Correspondents Club.  There, they will make contact with the assignment editor and with a whisper, ask what their next assignment is and then they will be given their next clue. 

With their $91 for the leg, all the teams head to the airport hoping to get on the first Vietnam Airlines flight, the only airline that flies to Cambodia.  The flight leaves at 12:25pm tomorrow, but Zev & Justin and Lance & Keri are too late.  The flight is full and they are told the next available flight is 2:15pm.

They get on standby and as the other teams take the bus to board the plane, the two teams are lucky enough to get on the 12:25pm, catching up just as the last teams board.  All teams are on the same flight to Cambodia.

Zev & Justin, after almost not making the first flight are now first out of the airport.  They meet a taxi driver, Thierry, who promises to stay with them the entire leg.  They, Meghan & Cheyne, and Sam & Dan are the first at the FCC and after they ask two men in armchairs for their next assignment, they are handed their next clue.  It is a manila folder with a picture and a note saying “The woman in this picture has a hotel suite named for her.  Find this same picture in this hotel.”  Phil explains to us that the picture is of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis from her only official visit to Cambodia in 1967 and the picture and suite is located at the Hotel Le Royal.  There, they will be given their next clue.

The other teams arrive and head off with the clue, but when Canaan goes to the two correspondents, he asks “Can I have my next task please?” and they both give him a crazy look.  It appears they have to be specific, though earlier the two men had given the newspapers as soon as the teams asked if they were the foreign assignment editors, which Canaan did.  He rereads his clue, asks for their “assignment” and are finally off.

Meanwhile, Gary & Matt and Brian & Ericka are told to go to the Royal Palace instead of the Hotel Le Royal.  Some teams take tuk tuks while others stick to their taxis.

On the way, the teams try to figure out who the woman in the photo is.  A few realize it’s Jackie Kennedy, others are told by the locals.  Mika & Canaan believed it was Queen Elizabeth or someone of Cambodian descent.  The Globetrotters thought it was one of the queens from Cambodia.  Sam & Dan thought she was a princess or queen.  Well, that was the image the Kennedys had wasn’t it?  America’s royal family?


Zev & Justin maintain their lead and arrive first at the hotel and are given the Detour.  In this Detour, teams choose between two common accessories of the Cambodian people, Cover or Wrap.
In Cover, teams must locate a helmet stand, choose four motorcycle helmets and then sell them to a family of four (two adults and two children) for ten dollars.  They will exchange the ten dollars for their clue.
In Wrap, teams must head to the Russian Market and find stalls 980 and 981.  The shopkeeper will hand them an intricately woven silk scarf.  They will then maneuver through the tight corridors of the market to find a woman wearing a matching scarf.  If they match the correct scarves, the shopkeeper will hand them their next clue.

Zev & Justin head for the scarves.  On the way, they talk to Thierry about karma.  They asks him if they tell other people to go to the wrong place, is that bad karma?  Thierry says yes, but he likes it.  

Meanwhile, Gary & Matt and Brian & Ericka arrive at the palace only to find out it’s not the right place.  The father and son tell the couple the woman Is Jackie Kennedy and they tell the tuk tuk drivers who know exactly where to go.
At the hotel, Sam & Dan get their clue and head out just as a bunch of the other teams arrive.  They ask the brothers if they saw the clue, but they say no.  The other teams don’t buy that at all.

The back of the pack arrive. Brian & Ericka and Gary & Matt get their clues, but once again Lance & Keri walk right past the man at the door to the suite.  They fall to last, but they ask some man if they selling helmets is easy. He says yeah, yeah and they go do the helmets.

At the Russian Market, Zev & Justin (and Thierry) find the woman and get their next clue, telling them to make their way on foot to Wat Toul Tom Pong, where they will find their next clue.  They tell Thierry they will follow behind the taxi. 


They get to the grounds and find the Road Block, Who’s ready to go bananas?
In this Road Block, teams will have to learn to be a monkey.  In Cambodia, monkeys are so revered that the royal family employs a royal monkey master who trains dancers to behave like monkeys.  Teams will wear a mask and a tail and must complete three monkey maneuvers as demonstrated by their monkey master.   They will get their next clue after successfully completing the maneuvers.

Zev does the Road Block.  Meanwhile, Sam & Dan are in and out of the market as the Globetrotters find two American women from Pennsylvania who help them find the woman with the scarf.  All the other teams arrive at the market, while Lance & Keri get started with the helmets.

Brian & Ericka are one of the last to arrive at the market, but are the first ones to find their woman who is nearby the stall.  They jump to 3rd place on their way to the monkeys.  Flight Herb and Big Nate are right behind them.

At the monkeys, Zev is having trouble with the last maneuver as the brothers Sam & Dan arrive.  Dan gets started with the Road Block as Zev falls to the floor, “I’m going to pass out” he says after referring to the heat earlier.  Justin tries to encourage and help, but Zev just wants to take a moment as Dan finishes and gets their clue telling to head for the Pit Stop, Wat Phnom, a 600 year old Buddhist shrine.  The brothers head out.  This gets Zev going and he finally finishes and they are off as well just as The Globetrotters and Team Jungle Zebra arrive.

They finish and head out as Meghan & Cheyne and Gary & Matt arrive.  When they finish, Lance & Keri arrive.  Meanwhile, Maria & Tiffany finish the Detour with Mika & Canaan right behind as the last teams.

The only team taking a taxi to the Pit Stop, Zev & Justin manage to pass Sam & Dan and finish first this leg.  Hmm… where’s the prize?
Sam & Dan arrive next and are 2nd, with the Globetrotters right behind them in 3rd. 

After checking in and talking to the Phil at the Mat, Zev & Justin realize Zev’s passport is missing.  They head back to the Mat and tell Phil.  Phil tells them, unless they have all their travel documents necessary to move forward in the Race, they’re out.  He tells them to check their backpacks.  They literally dump out their stuff, and Justin’s passport falls out, but Zev’s is gone.  Phil tells them to pack up their stuff, head back out on the course and find the passport.  

They call Thierry, hoping the passport is in the taxi.  They borrow a guard’s cell phone to call him and the ask if he could pick them up so they can go searching for the passport.  They head back to the monkeys.

At the monkeys, Lance & Keri finish leaving Maria doing the Road Block as Mika & Canaan arrive.  Canaan passes Maria and finishes before her.

At the Pit Stop, with Zev & Justin losing their first place finish, Brian & Ericka are now Team #3.  Father and son Gary & Matt are Team #4.  Meghan & Cheyne are Team #5.

Lance & Keri arrive at the Pit Stop and right before stepping on the Mat, they jump on each other, Lance does a roundhouse kick and jumps and whatnot and Phil gets scared.

Zev & Justin realize it isn’t looking too good for them now.  From first place to possibly last.  Each arriving team diminishes their chances.  Mika & Canaan finish 7th.  Maria & Tiffany fear the worst, but still hope for the best.  Phil tells them they are the last team to arrive, but because another team checked in without their travel documents, they are officially Team #8 and safe.  They laugh if they had this much luck in poker, they’d be gazillionaires.  

So, Zev & Justin make their way back to the Pit Stop.  Upset that this freak thing happened to get them out of the Race.  Phil makes if official and they are eliminated.  The best friends reassure each other that neither of them let the other down and that they will be better friends because of their experiences on the Race.

OVERALL
Definitely a tough way to go out for Zev & Justin.  A great leg for them ruined by a passport.
It just goes to show that there are two huge rules Racers must always remember: First, always READ YOUR CLUE!  And second, DON’T LOSE YOUR PASSPORTS!

It’s an accident, but it’s important to make sure you keep your travel documents, especially your passport safe at all times.  And not even just for the Race, but anytime you travel, right?

This was a great leg, heading back to Cambodia but this time Phnom Penh.  The Amazing Race always makes me want to go and just travel.  So many beautiful places around the world, and the Racers will see more in a month than most of us will see in our lifetimes.

The Wrap Detour got the teams right in the middle of daily Cambodian life, and the Jackie Kennedy route marker was a nice history lesson.  The Road Block was pretty awesome and tons of fun.

The Race is also very close.  The teams have been within an hour of each other finishing since the first leg (save for the Maria & Tiffany penalty) and sometimes minutes apart if not side by side.
Should be exciting because anyone, even the perpetual trailing teams could make one good move and get themselves into the next legs while one small mistake could cost another team the Race.

Should be exciting times!

Leg Four Itinerary
DEPARTURE
Reunification Palace
Ho Chi Minh City

CASH
$91

DESTINATION CITY
Phnom Penh, Cambodia

ROUTE MARKERS
Foreign Correspondents’ Club
Phnom Penh

Raffles Hotel Le Royal
Phnom Penh

DETOUR
Russian Market
Phnom Penh

ROAD BLOCK
Wat Toul Tom Pong
Phnom Penh

PIT STOP
Wat Phnom
Phnom Penh

Leg 4 Departure Times
Reunification Palace
Ho Chi Minh City

Flight Time & Big Easy 6:53pm
Meghan & Cheyne 6:54pm
Gary & Matt 6:58pm
Brian & Ericka 6:59pm
Sam & Dan 7:06pm
Maria & Tiffany 7:16pm
Mika & Canaan 7:25pm
Zev & Justin 7:31pm
Lance & Keri 7:32pm

Who Did the Detour?
In order of completion

COVER

WRAP







Road Block Count

In order of completion; Italics indicate who did this week’s Road Block
2 Zev Justin 2
2 Sam Dan 2
3 Herbert Nathaniel 1
2 Brian Ericka 2
2 Gary Matt 2
2 Meghan Cheyne 2
2 Lance Keri 2
1 Mika Canaan 3
2 Maria Tiffany 2
1 Marcy Ronald 2
1 Garrett Jessica 1
0 Eric Lisa 0

Leg 4 Order of Arrival
1st Zev & Justin
2nd Sam & Dan
3rd Flight Time & Big Easy
4th Brian & Ericka
5th Gary & Matt
6th Meghan & Cheyne
7th Lance & Keri
8th Mika & Canaan
9th Maria & Tiffany

Leg 4 Final Order of Finish
1st Sam & Dan
2nd Flight Time & Big Easy
3rd Brian & Ericka
4th Gary & Matt
5th Meghan & Cheyne
6th Lance & Keri
7th Mika & Canaan
8th Maria & Tiffany
Philiminated Zev & Justin

My Team Rankings for Leg 4
Almost even except for last place.
Brian & Ericka Brian & Ericka – Kind of quieter this leg, but they made a big leap from last to getting a lucky 3rd at the Detour.  That could be the boost they need to gain some momentum going forward.  So far, no problems team wise, it seems all they need is that little boost of confidence after a slow first few legs.  Let’s see if they keep it up.
Herbert & Nathaniel Herbert & Nathaniel – Continuing to do well all while having fun.  Good combination.  They are one of the teams to beat, no question.  Let’s see them keep it up!
Zev & Justin Zev & Justin – Sad to see the guys done in with a lost passport.  They were good guys, good Racers, but those little things like falling overboard and leaving the wet clue plastered onto the side of the boat, can really spell the end.  It was unfortunate, and it would’ve been great to see them go further in the Race. 
Meghan & Cheyne Meghan & Cheyne – Had a good leg, but still slipped overall, which just shows how close the competition is.  Not much else to add, but another strong team moving forward.
Gary & Matt Gary & Matt – Not much from this leg either.  Still doing well, working well together.  It’s anyone’s Race at this point.
Mika & Canaan Mika & Canaan – They’re skating by pretty dangerously so far this Race.  They’re always in the back of the pack and it seems as if they don’t have that sense of urgency to get themselves higher.  I like them but again, they definitely need to step it up otherwise they will be an easy Philimination sooner than later. 
Sam & Dan Sam & Dan – So they were doing pretty well this leg until the bitching came back full force, this time from both of them!  That’s going to hurt their otherwise solid Race if they don’t rein it in.
Maria & Tiffany Maria & Tiffany – So talk about luck.  The professional champion poker players are saved a 2nd time from certain Philimination.  First the non-elimination in Japan and now saved by Zev & Justin’s misfortune.  They’ve had a shaky Race , needless to say and are perpetually in danger of Philimination if they don’t step it up as well.
Lance & Keri Lance & Keri – Well, not as douchey this week.  Their scaring Phil at the Mat really was scary and funny, but they as a team continue to make silly mistakes, passing the clue once again.  They could be a strong team as well if they can stop and be a little more careful in reading clues and looking for route markers.
Quotes from Episode 15-04
Flight Time: “I found myself last night cleaning Big Easy’s socks and underwear.  So, if that’s not something that’s brought us closer, then I don’t what is.”

Matt: “I bet this place has a hoppin’ nightlife… Oh yeah…”

Brian: “I got a Ho Chi Minh hummingbird in my eye.”

Zev (to Thierry, the taxi driver): “Don’t leave us or I’m gonna call your mother!”

Justin: “If we tell them to go to the wrong place, is that bad karma?”
Thierry: “Yeah!  Yeah, bad.  I like that.”
Justin: “He likes it though!”

Maria: “I wish I could’ve been a better monkey for my teammate.”

Phil (after some roundhouse kicks from lance): “Oh man, you’re scaring me now.”

Episode Caps

700+ episode caps from Leg 4 now online at xangatheamazingracecaps2

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