Recap: The Amazing Race 16, Episode 11 – “So people you can go screw yourself.”

Episode 16.11 – They Don’t Even Understand Their Own Language

The Leg
Jet & Cord set off from the Pit Stop first, at 8:02am and are given a clue that tells them only to make their way to the Garden Bridge which locals know as Wàibáidù Qiáo.  Cord relates the time a few years ago when he got hoofed in the head by a horse and Jet was by his side through it all.

Brent & Caite leave next and Caite talks about getting negative comments every single day about her Miss Teen USA flop.



Both teams each ask dozens of people who have no idea what the Garden Bridge is.  Brent & Caite get luck when a tech savvy young woman uses her mobile phone to Google search the internet and find out they need to go to Wàibáidù Qiáo.  

They get to the cluebox and the next clue that tells them to make their way to Longhua Temple by transportation other than taxi.

Jet & Cord get in a taxi who eventually knows where he’s going, while Dan & Jordan wander around for two hours and decide to wait for the cops because they have no idea where to go, reasoning they will stick with the cops until the Speed Bump where they’ll be able to pass them.  Heh.

While Brent & Caite take a bus, Jet & Cord are told to take a train so they run to the station supposedly 1km away. 

Meanwhile, Den & Jordan and the cops try to spot the bridge by looking around their surroundings. They spot two coats in the middle of a road and think that’s the clue.  Wrong.



They finally think to call a translation service that lets the taxi drivers know where to go, but only to Mike and Louie’s cab.  Dan & Jordan’s cab driver has to follow them, yet he apparently doesn’t understand what “follow” means which frustrates (that’s an understatement) the brothers.


Brent & Caite arrive at Longhua Temple and find the Road Block.
In this Road Block, teams will have to count all the gold statues in the Arhat Hall of the temple, which included hundreds of small buddhas.  If they got the right number, 523, they’ll get their next clue.  If not, they will have to wait 10 minutes before being able to make another guess.



Caite goes for it and makes two wrong guesses before the cowboys arrive.  They walk right past sitting Brent as they look for the clue, but once they get start, Jet finishes counting first and gets it right with Caite right behind with her final guess.

They both get the next clue telling them to choose one of the marked sidecar motorcycles outside and have them take them to the Yuyuan Gardens for their next clue.


Jet & Cord get to the cluebox first to find the Detour, Pork Chops or Pork Dumplings.
In Pork Chops, teams will make their way to the Art Stone store and search the shelves of elaborate stamps, or chops, for one that has the pictures of a pig and their names on them.
In Pork Dumplings, teams head to a restaurant, pick up ten orders of dumplings, and deliver them.



Jet & Cord choose Pork Chops.  Brent & Caite arrive soon after, but Brent needs to go pee really really badly.  Caite doesn’t want to stop looking just so he can pee, but he can’t concentrate if he doesn’t go.  Since team members can never be more than a couple of feet away from each other at all times outside of a task that requires them to, Brent can’t go on his own, yet Caite won’t stop.  They eventually go when Brent just stands in the middle of the store.


At the Road Block, Dan gets started as Michael & Louie find their incredibly easy Speed Bump.  For this Speed Bump all they have to do is walk three feet and each toss a coin in a large incense burner.

That’s all.



They finish in a minute, but after Dan gets his number right, Louie gets his wrong.  He gets it on 2nd try.

At the Detour, Brent & Caite and Jet & Cord finish at the same time and get the clue telling them to go to the Pit Stop,. The Riverside Promenade.

Jet & Cord get a taxi first, but Brent & Caite get to the Mat first and are being greeted by Bao Xishun, the world’s talletst man.  They win a trip to the Spanish coast.  Jet & Cord take 2nd, but more importantly, both teams are in the final three.

Dan & Jordan get to the Detour first and Louie & Michael are close behind.  The brothers finish first though and get themselves out of there and to the Pit Stop where they finish 3rd and are the last teami in the final leg.Louie & Michael are finally eliminated.




Episode Thoughts
This week was very interesting.  First, I can’t believe Dan & Jordan waited 2 hours for Louie & Michael. Did they really not find anyone who could tell them about the Garden Bridge in TWO hours?

Dan & Jordan’s strategy of sticking with the cops and passing them at the Speed Bump was lazy, yet clever IF the Speed Bump wasn’t so horrible.  It might have been the worst Speed Bump ever.  Not the task itself, because that was actually something they could’ve had all the teams do.  But because it was right next to the Speed Bump and Road Block clue AND it was more than easy.  Past Speed Bumps, though simple, at least had teams travel a distance to it.  This week, it was three feet away from the cluebox AND the Road Block.  It was pointless.

The Road Block itself was easy as well but it was a nice cultural task.  The Detour was standard TAR.  I wish they’d do more tasks that actually had them interacting with the locals though.  Getting holed up in a shop isn’t really interacting with anything but stamps, in this case.

Next week is the Finish Line! And since it was pretty obvious from the preview, I can say without spoiling… YAY for San Francisco!
Leg Eleven Itinerary
PIT START
Shanghai Science and Technology Museum
Shanghai, China

CASH
$22

ROUTE MARKER
Garden Bridge
(Wàibáidù Qiáo)

ROAD BLOCK & SPEED BUMP
Longhua Temple
Shanghai

DETOUR
Yuyuan Garden
Shanghai

PIT STOP
Riverside Promenade
(Bīnjiāng Dà Dào)
Shanghai, China

Departure Times
Shanghai Science and Technology Museum
Shanghai, China
Jet & Cord 8:02am
Brent & Caite 8:36am
Dan & Jordan 8:53am
Louie & Michael 11:00am

Who Did the Detour?
In order of completion

PORK CHOPS



PORK DUMPLINGS
None


 

Road Block Count
In order of completion; Italics indicate who did the Road Block

Who thinks they can sum up Buddha?
6 Jet Cord 5
6 Brent Caite 5
5 Dan Jordan 5
6 Louie Michael 5

4 Carol Brandy 4
4 Steve Allie 3
2 Jordan Jeff 3
2 Joe Heidi 2
1 Monique Shawne 2
1 Jody Shannon 1
0 Dana Adrian 0

Order of Finish
1st Brent & Caite /
2nd Jet & Cord /
3rd Dan & Jordan =
Eliminated Louie & Michael =

My Subjective Team Rankings for Leg 11

Daniel & Jordan Dan & Jordan – I’d love for them to win, I really would, but I can’t see it happening.  They haven’t stepped it up all Race long, and despite them insisting their strategy was to avoid elimination, there have been times when it seems like they just waited for luck to push them along.  I hope they really show up next week, but I’m sadly doubtful.
Jet & Cord Jet & Cord – It really is their Race to lose at this point.  But anything goes in the final leg.  You never know what will happen.  While I won’t say they’ve been consistent this Race, they have Raced very well and if they are on their A-game, then they will have no problem winning.
*BIG GAP*
Brent & Caite Brent & Caite – They had potential, but mostly, they’ve fallen forward this entire Race.  And now they’re in the final leg.  While I don’t think she’s proven her detractors wrong (she had a shot at the beginning), they may win if they get lucky and the other two teams do not. 
*BIG GAP*
Louie & Michael Louie & Michael – Why couldn’t they have been eliminated sooner?
Quotes from Episode 16-11
Caite: “Obviously, I know how to read maps because I’m pretty damn good at knowing where we are and where we’re going… in China!  So people you can go screw yourself.”


Episode Caps


<BR310 episode caps at xangatheamazingracecaps

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