Introduction → Race Tracker → Meet the Teams → Leg 1 → Leg 2 → Leg 3 → Leg 4 → Leg 5 → Leg 6A → Leg 6B → Leg 7 → Leg 8 → Leg 9 → Leg 10 → Leg 11 → Leg 12
Leg 21.06A – “I don’t want to fall down the side of the mountain and get stabbed.”
The 6th Leg of the Race begins as teams must fly to Kuala Lumpur.
Once there, teams must make their way to the observation deck of Kuala Lumpur Tower to search for their next clue. Teams must figure out that it is a flag on the grounds of St. John’s International School below where they will find the next clue.
Here, teams will join the school’s sepak takraw club and learn how to kick the ball to each other. Teams must then try and sustain the longest, uninterrupted rally between them before they are given the next clue.
The team with the longest rally will receive a special reward later in the Leg. The team with the shortest rally will receive a penalty. Teams can make as many attempts as they want before opening the next clue.
And that clue reveals teams will be flying to Muscat, Oman! Teams will be on one of two flights from Kuala Lumpur to Muscat: via Abu Dhabi arriving at 7:50am and via Dubai arriving at 9:36am.
At the airport, teams must choose a brand-new 2020 Kia Telluride and drive themselves to Mutrah Fort.
Here teams must search the grounds for the next clue as well as learn the results of the Sepak Takraw. The team with the longest rally will win an Express Pass valid only for this Leg. The team with the shortest rally will receive a half-length Self Yield which they must fulfill before the end of this Leg.
Also here at Mutrah Fort, teams must check-in at the very first Forced U-Turn Vote Board of the season!
Teams must now drive themselves to Jebel Shams where they will encounter the Road Block: Who can get their sheath done?
For this Road Block, teams must rappel down the side of the mountain and search for a gold-decorated sheath. There are several different sheaths, each with different designs. Teams will only need to choose one and return to their partners.
After the Road Block, teams must drive themselves to Bahla Fort.
Here, teams must search the huge fort for a khanjar, the traditional dagger of Oman and part of the national dress for Omani men. They must find the dagger that matches their sheath in order to receive the next clue.
That clue is a set of GPS coordinates and a Samsung Galaxy S20. Using only Google Maps, teams must find the location of the next Mat.
That location is this camp near Nizwa. BUT! Teams will discover that the Mat is abandoned meaning this is a SuperLeg!
The first team to check-in here will win P100,000 courtesy of Shell V-Power Nitro+. The last team to check-in here will have to complete a Hazard penalty on the second half of this SuperLeg!
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“Director’s” Commentary
Recycling is good for the environment! lol
Oman has definitely been another country on my TARPHDME shortlist for a while and it ended up fitting into this season’s route very well. Of course, Google scouting can only produce so much. So both halves of this SuperLeg will recycle TARUS’ Omani visits with some fresh challenges as well.
First, we have teams in Kuala Lumpur merely for logistics purposes and to fill out this “episode.” Being a SuperLeg, the one Leg Express Pass and Self Yield should be an interesting twist as well. One possibility we hope for is teams who get the Express Pass or Self Yield will think they have plenty of time to use them only to realize the “Pit Stop” is ahead and feel like they’ve either wasted an Express Pass or will have to Yield themselves at the Mat. Then of course they will find out this is only the midpoint of the Leg.
I think this is the first time sepak takraw has been featured on TARPHDME. So it’s good to finally get it into the Race.
The biggest challenge of this Leg is likely going to be the driving. Long distances. In the middle of nowhere. We hope teams get terribly lost and frustrated. There’s basically only two actual tasks in Muscat. The Road Block and Active Route Info. Both needing to find the sheath and the dagger. Plus a rappel, which is recycled from TARUS.
One interesting thing I found out during Google scouting was that you can basically set up camp anywhere in Oman. Come across a random open area in the desert? Camp all you want! So interesting. So that’s how this random Mat location came about.
Overall, I think this Leg is more about team and character development rather than actual, real competition. But it can still be exciting and fun.