Introduction → Leg 1 → Leg 2 → Leg 3 → Leg 4 → Leg 5A → Leg 5B → Leg 6 → Leg 7 → Leg 8 → Leg 9 → Leg 10 → Leg 11 → Leg 12
Leg 19.05A – “I am not having a jolly afternoon.”
The All-Stars are in for a big Leg as they open the first clue revealing they will be flying from Dili to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam!
Teams will have to figure out the best way to get to Ho Chi Minh City, but it’ll likely be via Bali arriving at 5:05pm.
Upon arrival in Ho Chi Minh City, teams must make their way to Ben Thanh Market and use a set of provided clues to figure out where in the sprawling market complex they can find their next clue.
That clue directs teams to find the nearest Jollibee to find their next clue. That Jollibee is located 1km away and can be reached on foot. And at this Jollibee, teams will find a Double Road Block: Take It or Give It.
With over 100, Vietnam has the most overseas Jollibee locations of any country in the world. For the team member who chooses to Take It, they will be given a Samsung Galaxy S10 which they will use to accept three different phone orders, in Vietnamese.
The team member who will Give It must then hop on a scooter to deliver the three orders to three different addresses in the area. Each customer will check their order and then give them a ticket if correct. Teams can then exchange their three tickets for the next clue.
Teams must now head to the Mien Dong Bus Station where they will catch an 11 hour bus ride to Pleiku in the Gia Lai province.
And from the bus station, teams must find a taxi that will take them to the Bac Ai Pagoda in Kon Tum.
Teams will then head to the Dak Bla River in Kon K’tu where they must hop into a canoe and paddle themselves upstream to retrieve bushels of bananas that they must paddle back to deliver.
The bananas must weigh a minimum 35kg in order to receive the next clue.
If the bushels are less than 35 kg, teams must serve out a 10-minute-per-kilogram difference penalty before getting the clue.
That clue directs teams to the Village Communal House in Kon K’tu.
And here, teams will find a BLIND! Double One Way Board! Teams can One Way a team, but only before reading the details of the Detour. Teams must decide which Detour to force another team to do based solely on each Detour’s name.
After checking-in at the One Way, teams can read more about the Detour: Song or Spool.
In Song, teams must learn how to sing a traditional song in the Bahnar language from the village elder. When each team member can perform a section of the song, they will receive the next clue.
In Spool, teams will learn how to and successfully weave a pattern with colored wool. Each team member must complete a measured section of pattern to receive the next clue.
After the Detour, teams must make their way to Nha Rong Kon Klor in Kon Tum.
Here, teams must choose one of the various wood carvings on display and carve a replica out of a large log to receive their next clue.
When approved, teams must now deliver their creation on foot to Bao Tang Tp in Kon Tum.
And when delivered, teams can make their way to the Cathedral of Kon Tum…
Which they will be shocked to learn is an Abandoned Pit Stop! This is a SuperLeg! And teams must continue Racing.
The first team to check-in here at the SuperLeg midpoint will win P100,000 courtesy of Shell V-Power Nitro+.
The last team to check-in here will have to face an Automatic Rewind on the next half of the Leg.
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“Director’s” Commentary
So this is a recycled Leg from The Amazing Race Vietnam 2019 (which I very much enjoyed earlier this year). I thought this Leg was pretty good so I just lifted the entire thing with some modifications of course.
The biggest changes are the Route Markers in Ho Chi Minh City, including the first ever Jollibee-sponsored task on TARPHDME! And it’s perfect to have it here in Vietnam since it has the most Jollibees in one country outside the Philippines. It’s nice to know Jollibee is doing well here! Hehe.
First, we have teams running around the Ben Thanh Market which could absolutely host a separate full task as well. But for now, we’ll just have teams figuring out some clues to find the clue’s location.
But the Double Road Block itself is pretty challenging. The first part is basically a language task and also inspired by the many “Take orders in a foreign language” tasks we’ve seen on various TARs before. We’re able to sneak in some Samsung promo too lol
The second part of the Double Road Block is essentially a deliver task with the added challenge of having to ride a scooter through Ho Chi Minh City streets! The only question we would have here is how to ensure the safety of teams on the road. Especially if that team member may not be too comfortable on a scooter. The addresses would be in the immediate area though. Teams won’t have to drive across the city or something.
Another reason for this task in Ho Chi Minh City is also to give teams something extra to do before having to take the overnight bus ride to Kon Tum where the bulk of the Leg (and the original TARV Leg) will take place.
I very much enjoyed the upstream paddling on TARV. It can certainly be a frustrating endeavor and could take a physical toll on teams right at the start of the Leg. Plus, we’ll have nine teams here so that should increase the chances of chaos on the river! The bananas part of the task is really just extra since the highlight of the task will be upstream struggle.
Next up we have the Detour and the debut of the Blind! One Way. We of course have Blind Detours. So why not a Blind One Way. Basically, teams will choose which Detour to force on another team based only on the name of the tasks and not knowing the details of either. It can definitely provide some interesting moments if teams choose incorrectly or they mistakenly force a team into a task they might be good at and didn’t know.
Also since this is a SuperLeg, the One Way is merely a drama inducer and not necessarily something that will eliminate a team.
The Detours themselves were very unique for a Vietnamese Leg so I liked it a lot. The two tasks highlighted a different culture in Vietnam than what we normally see on Vietnamese Legs.
The wood carving task is just an extra task. (Even though we had wood carving on the last Leg!) But we add on the extra task of having to carry the huge thing somewhere else.
Overall, another full Leg that should challenge teams well.