The Amazing Race Philippines: DryedMangoez Edition 16 – Leg 7 – Romania


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Leg 16.07 – “I need practice to spread my legs like that.”

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Teams are now officially halfway through the Race. And their next destination on this 7th Leg is… Bucharest, Romania!

All teams will be on the same Turkish Airlines flights from Paro via Kathmandu and Istanbul, arriving in Bucharest at 8:05pm.

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Upon arrival in Bucharest, teams must make their way to the Lia Manoliu National Sports Complex and search for the gymnastics training center for their next clue.

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Teams must channel their inner Romanian five-time Olympic gold medalist Nadia Comaneci and learn and perform a gymnastics routine to receive their next clue.

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That clue points teams to the Romanian Athenaeum.

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Here, they will find the Double U-Turn board! Powered by Samsung and Smart.

Then teams will open the next clue revealing the Detour: Eyes or Ears.

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This stunning fresco along the ceiling of the concert hall depicts the history of Romania. For Eyes, teams must study this fresco and then piece 10 different puzzles outside depicting the same events. They must then place the events in chronological order according to the fresco painting to receive the next clue.

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The Romanian Athenaeum is home to the world-renowned George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra. In Ears, teams must listen to the orchestra who will be playing short samples from three different orchestral pieces. They must then search inside and outside the concert hall for three young musicians amongst dozens playing different instruments (piano, violin, harp, etc.) for the three playing one of the three pieces being performed in the hall. Teams must collect the sheet of music from these three musicians and present them to the conductor to receive the next clue.

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Teams must now make their way to the Macca Villacrosse Passage and search this alleyway of shops and restaurants for their next clue.

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That clue directs teams to find Caru’ cu Bere.

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Here, teams must successfully make four Romanian treats known as papanasi in five minutes. If they are unsuccessful, they must eat all the rejected papanasi before they can try again.

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This is also the Trigger Point for this Leg of the Race. If any team is able to successfully make four papanasi on their first attempt, the U-Turn or Yield will be activated on the next Leg.

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Teams must now make their way to the Palace of Parliament where they will find the Road Block: Who can make everything go according to plan?

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Photo: Nico Trinkhaus – Bucharest’s Palace of the Parliament – Ballroom

The Palace of Parliament is second only to the United States Pentagon as the largest administrative building in the world. For this Road Block, teams will need to search this imposing structure for various Romanian artifacts using only a provided floorplan with limited text. Teams must return to the lobby of the building and place the artifacts in their proper spot before being given their next clue.

That clue is actually one last map which will reveal the location of their partner who will be waiting with the next clue.

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That clue tells teams to head to the balcony of the Palace of Parliament from which they must now search for the Pit Stop.

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And the Mat will be located just across the street from the Palace of Parliament.

The first team to check in here will win P200,000 courtesy of Shell V-Power Nitro+.

The last team to check in here WILL be eliminated!
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“Director’s” Commentary

A very nice Leg! So, TARUS came to Romania in season 14, but it was focused more on Transylvania instead of Bucharest. We recycle the gymnastics task here (because why not?!), but the rest of the Leg should be fresh and exciting.

Now this Leg really came about after I first learned of the Palace of Parliament. What a stunning structure. Just huge and imposing. Very fascinating history around it, but also fascinating to see its current state and use. Anyway, this Leg wasn’t originally a night Leg. But after it came together, it actually works perfectly as a night Leg. It worked out that the best flight from Bhutan to Bucharest would arrive at night, so this Leg was all about things teams could do after dark.

So first, the gymnastics should be a good challenge for teams. It’s certainly not an easy sport, especially when you might not be fit or even inclined for something like gymnastics. So we hope teams spend a lot of time here. Lol

The Detour makes full use of the beautiful Romanian Athenaeum. Now, both sides of the Detour are inspired by TAR tasks of the past. But I think we have some nice updated variations here. The fresco is different from TARCAN2 in that teams must put together separate puzzles first and then put them in order. Our hope is teams must run in and out of the hall several times to be able to complete the task.

And that will be while other teams will be running around looking for musicians scattered throughout the building and outside as well. All playing music in addition to the orchestra should help make for some fun chaotic moments I hope. The listening to music task is also similar to TAR17’s, but made a little more challenging as it is different instruments and three different pieces.

Next up is the Macca Villacrosse Passage which as far as I know is open 24 hours a day. So teams can safely run around here in the middle of the night.

A food task is an easy task to help fill out a Leg. Here, teams must recreate a treat. What we hope for here is teams fail several times so they have to eat their failed creations and be so full they almost throw up. Almost. We don’t want them to get really sick of course. Hehe.

We can also make this task a little more challenging by having teams make more than four as well.

Finally, what should be highlight of the Leg. I think it would be amazing for teams to be running around this huge building in the wee hours of the morning. It works out perfectly that this is at night so we aren’t bothering anyone who might actually be doing work here in the daytime. Lol

But having to navigate the huge building using only a blueprint-type map should make for some tense and frustrating moments. There’s definitely the possibility that teams will work together. Which I am definitely weary of. I hate seeing some teams getting the easy way out while others have to struggle (and still complete the task) on their own. But we’ll just have to let it play out.

Now here, the hope is teams will finish this Leg just as the sun rises. So I think all these tasks are difficult enough to take up most of the night. Because a Pit Stop in front of the Palace of Parliament just as the sun rises would be visually stunning! 4K UHD drones, deploy!

So overall, I think this is a really great Leg. All the tasks on this Leg should make for some exciting competition between teams. I really like it.

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