TAR 4 Timelines

[raceguy120390]

SEASON FOUR, LEG ELEVEN

Day Twenty-Three
Sunday, February 9, 2003

The four remaining teams depart from Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul, Korea... uh, SOUTH Korea:
3:46am - Kelly/Jon
3:55am - Reichen/Chip
4:04am - Jon/Al
5:15am - David/Jeff

Their first clue reads: "Make your way to Hangang Park [on] Yeouido Island, between Map'o Bridge and Wanheo [sp?] bridge...".

Money for this leg was not revealed.

They must pull on a MARKED string there [eyebrow raises for Kelly and Jon], releasing a kite with the next clue attached.

Teams arrive and pull kites:
1) Jon/Al
2) Reichen/Chip
3) Kelly/Jon (who asked for directions at the Koreana Hotel)
4) David/Jeff

Teams are directed to "Make [their] way to Brisbane, Australia", almost 7,000 miles away. It is at this point that teams receive the Fast Forward information (more below)

Teams all take taxis to Inchon Airport, then book flights as follows:

Reichen/Chip; Kelly/Jon and David/Jeff all on Singapore Airlines flight ???, departing at 2:00 to Singapore, then connecting to Singapore Airlines flight ??? to Brisbane.

Jon/Al attempt to fly on Korean Air (flight ???) to Singapore, then take the same Singapore Airlines flight to Brisbane the other teams are on. Due to fog (and other) delays, they instead take a later direct flight to Brisbane on Korean Air (flight ???).

Day Twenty-Four
Monday, February 10, 2003

Teams arrive in Brisbane, Queensland. They are directed to go to the Holiday Inn hotel at the Roma Street transit center, check in with the concierge, and be escorted to the Penthouse Suite. Kelly and Jon take a train, the all-male teams travel by taxi.

David/Jeff go for the Fast Forward at a local beach (one website claims it's Caloundra Beach, but that's on the opposite side of Brisbane to everything else in this leg, so it's probably wrong. There are no discernable details revealing this in the episode.). They must complete an Australian surf rescue by paddling lifeguard surfboard to a buoy, picking up a "drowning" victim, and bringing her back to shore.

Meanwhile, teams arrive at the Penthouse:

1) Reichen/Chip
2) Kelly/Jon

(somewhat later)
4) Jon/Al

And encounter a:

Detour
FACE FIRST or FOOT FIRST

FACE FIRST - Each team member must abseil (you're in Australia, no calling it rappelling) face first down the side of the 20-storey tall hotel. Contrary to what Phil says, we do not actually claim this style of abseiling as "Australian". We claim the Bee Gees (who are from the Isle of Man), the Sydney Opera House (designed by a Dane), and every New Zealandian celebrity aside from Phil, but we do not claim face-first rappelling.
FOOT FIRST - Teams must look for a route marker on the roof of a nearby hotel (the Sheraton), run down the stairs and over to said hotel, then climb 30 stories to the roof.

All three teams choose FACE FIRST, with team members finishing as follows:

1) Chip
2) (Model) Jon
3) Reichen
4) Kelly

(later)
5) (Clown) Jon
6) Al

At the bottom, teams are given their next clue. It reads: "Choose a marked car near the driveway of the hotel [as opposed to where, cluewriters? Switzerland? That restaurant from the meat pie Fast Forward in TAR2? Stacked on top of each other in the hotel swimming pool?] and drive yourselves to Underwater World in the town of Mooloolaba". Mooloolaba is (per Phil) 43 miles away.

raceguy presents Your Guide To Butchering Australian Town Names, Volume 1:
Correct pronunciation: Mer-loo-ler-BAR.
Phil: Mer-loo-luh-BUH.
Chip: Moo-loo-la-BOO.
Kelly: MOO-looh-lah-bah
Reichen: MEWL-ooh-lar-bar.
David/Jeff: Mer-loo-ber-bah (or something to that extent, it's hard to tell because they screwed up together).
Al: Mool-ULL-a-bar.

Back at Caloundra Beach, and after a lot of useless blaming their woeful performance on everything except themselves (the water was too hot, the chick was too fat, wah-wah-wah), David/Jeff win and get this clue:

"You've won the Fast Forward. Drive youselves to the town of Mooloolaba..."

They can advance directly to the next Pit Stop, the Mooloolaba Yacht Club.

The three remaining teams arrive at UnderWaterWorld, and follow a marked path through the aquarium to the cluebox, where they arrive:

2) Kelly/Jon
3) Reichen/Chip

(Later)
4) Jon/Al

And encounter a:

RoadBlock
"Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water..."

The chosen team member must put on S.C.U.B.A. gear and walk across the floor of the aquarium (which, supposedly, is home to a "rogue's gallery" of sea creatures) to an underwater treasure chest containing their next clue.

The chosen team member finishes (participant in CAPS):
2) Kelly/JON (who gets touched by a stingray)
3) REICHEN/Chip (who almost gets eaten by a shark. Except not really.)

(Later)
4) Jon/AL (who does not get touched by any sea creatures)

The final clue of this leg directs teams:

"Make your way on foot to the next Pit Stop, the Mooloolaba Yacht Club
...
[Warning:] The last team to check-in WILL be eliminated."

The teams ARRIVE as follows, and are greeted by a beauty queen of indeterminate pageantage:

1) David/Jeff, at 10:41am, who win a trip to "exotic" Mexico, courtesy of AA's website.
2) Reichen/Chip, at 10:58am*
3) Kelly/Jon, at 10:59am
4) Jon/Al, around ?????, who are the last team to be Philiminated this season.

*Reichen and Chip receive a penalty for walking to the Pit Stop of 35 minutes [my question to the producers: How'd you know the penalty time before either walking team had arrived? And you can't say you used Heave's penalty as the basis, since their's was two minutes longer...], and depart at 11:33pm.

[raceguy120390]

SEASON FOUR, LEG TWELVE

Day Twenty-Five
Tuesday, February 11, 2003

Following an extended Pit Stop, the final three teams depart from the Mooloolaba Yacht Club as follows:

10:41pm - David/Jeff
10:59pm - Kelly/Jon
11:33pm - Reichen/Chip

Their first clue says: "Drive youselves to the Australian Woolshed in Ferny Hills... You have $1 for this leg of the race."

Teams drive there and camp out.

Day Twenty-Six
Wednesday, February 12, 2003

When it opens at 6am, teams enter and search one of three giant piles of wool for the clue. They find it:

1) Kelly/Jon
2) Reichen/Chip
3) David/Jeff

They get a clue reading: "Fly to Cairns. When you land, choose a marked car outside the airport terminal, drive youselves to Wild World and look for a route marker at the marked entrance."

Teams arrive at Brisbane Airport in the same order as they found the wool clue, and all fly the same Qantas flight (#???) to Cairns, departing at 7:45am.

Teams leave Cairns Airport: 1) Kelly/Jon, 2) David/Jeff, 3) Reichen/Chip.

And arrive at Wild World in the same order. They are instructed to "Choose a Kodak EasyShare digital camera and follow a curator to the croc pen..."

One team member must use a feeding stick to feed a fish to a 15-foot croc named 'Sultan', the other will use the camera to take a picture. They must then take the camera to Wild World Souvenirs, and develop the picture using an apparently slow and complicated printer dock. Their clue will be written on the back of the photo. (Hey, it beats a gnome hunt!)

Only one team can feed Sultan at a time, and teams take numbers: 1) Kelly/Jon, 2) David/Jeff, 3) Reichen/Chip. However, Kelly/Jon forgot to take a camera and had to go back, losing their place in line.

Teams actually feed and photograph Sultan:

1) David (fed)/Jeff (photographed)
2) Reichen (photographed)/Chip (fed)
3) Kelly (photographed)/Jon (fed)

Teams develop their photo in the same order (a clock on the wall in the gift shop reads 10:40am as Kelly/Jon are leaving.

The clue on the back of the photograph reads: "Make your way to Wangetti Beach for your next clue". Per Phil, this is 15 miles away.

Teams arrive at Wangetti Beach:

1) David/Jeff
2) Reichen/Chip
3) Kelly/Jon

And encounter this leg's:

Detour
SADDLE or PADDLE

SADDLE: Teams must ride horses along a 1.5 mile stretch of beach, searching for one of four race flags. Once they find one, they must disembark from their horses and search within a 25-yard radius for a cluster of clue envelopes. Only one of the four clusters contains the next clue, the others say "Sorry. Try again."
PADDLE: Teams must use hand pumps to inflate a raft and paddle out to a floating buoy.

All teams choose SADDLE, and finish:

1) David/Jeff - first cluster
2) Reichen/Chip - fourth cluster
3) Kelly/Jon - first cluster

The actual clue reads: "Drive youselves to the town of Julatten and keep your eyes open for the 'Off Road Rush'".

Teams arrive in the same order they left the Detour, and encounter a:

RoadBlock
"Who's up for a wild ride?"

The chosen team member must drive a dune buggy around a marked 7-mile course. An instructor will ride with them for safety (and evidently, it doesn't help).

The chosen team member finishes (participant in CAPS):
1) DAVID/Jeff
2) Reichen/CHIP (who crashes)
3) Kelly/JON (who crashes)

The final clue of this leg reads: "Drive yourselves to the next Pit Stop: Ellis Beach." This beach is on the edge of the Coral Sea, and (per Phil) is 50 miles away.

The teams arrive at the Pit Stop (and are greeted by a man wearing a cork hat):

1) David/Jeff, who win a vacation to "romantic" (awww) Europe courtesy of AA's website.
2) Reichen/Chip
3) Kelly/Jon, who are non-eliminated -- and are the last team to be non-eliminated without a penalty.

[raceguy120390]

TAR 4, LEG 7 - TIMELINE

SUMMARY: The race continues its love affair with the subcontinent, and also starts the tradition of "Hiding" Indian Route Markers In Really Obvious Places this week, as teams search for a giant billboard with their clue on it. But first, it's time for a long-distance train ride. On the way to the train station, Tian and Jaree discover just how chaotic Indian drivers really are, and we all burst into hysterical laughter imagining Flo in the same situation. The teams get dragged by a pair of bulls through what is generously called "mud", before either taking chickens to a farm or riding anorexic elephants down a city street. As you do. The Finishing Point is the finishing point for this leg, in an oddly logical move by the producers. It is also, depsite Phil's episode-starting spiel, the finishing point for Tian and Jaree.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Money for this leg: $70.00.

Day Fourteen
January 31st, 2003

Teams depart from the Pit Stop at the Gateway Of India as follows:
12:51am - David/Jeff
+1min - Reichen/Chip (12:52am)
+28min - Kelly/Jon (1:19am)
+43min - Millie/Chuck (1:34am)
+45min - Tian/Jaree (1:36am)
+46min - Jon/Al (1:37am)

The first clue directs teams to get to the Panvel train station, 43 miles away, and then travel 860 miles on an Indian train to Ernakulam Junction in Cochin, one of the largest cities in the Kerala province.

Teams all discover that the train does not leave until later in the morning, and many return to the hotel for sleep. Later, Kelly/Jon and Jon/Al take taxis to Victoria station and then catch a train to Panvel, all others take taxis to Panvel directly. On the way, Tian/Jaree experience one of the Race's scariest moments in history when they are driven on the opposite side of the road, at night, with their headlights off. Yes, I said scariest. Eat it, Assorted Bungy Jump Operators!

Anyway, the train departs at 11:20am for a 24-hour ride with all teams on it. The six teams all purchase second-class tickets to begin with, but every team except Millie and Chuck upgarde to first class whilst on the train (for US$16 a person).

Day Fifteen
February 1st, 2003

The train arrives in Cochin. Teams find their next clue at the station, which directs them to travel by taxi south on Highway 47 until they find a red-and-yellow billboard that says "GET HERE" in twelve-foot-tall letters. And yet, teams seem to think they've missed it for some reason.

The billboard is about thirty minutes away from the train station, and teams arrive as follows:
1) David/Jeff
2) Tian/Jaree
3) Millie/Chuck
4) Kelly/Jon
5) Jon/Al
6) Reichen/Chip

Teams cross the busy road to get to the cluebox underneath the billboard. The clue inside tells team to direct their drivers to Alleppey, and find the local sports field. They arrive:
1) David/Jeff
2) Jon/Al
3) Tian/Jaree
4) Kelly/Jon
5) Millie/Chuck (whose cab's radiator started smoking)
6) Reichen/Chip (whose cab ran out of fuel)

And encounter a:

R(/)ADBL(/)CK
(Couldn't find the hint anywhere. Help?)

In this RoadBlock, the chosen team member will grab onto a bar positioned behind two bulls, and must hold onto the bar whilst the bulls run the length of the field. If they can do this, they will get their next clue. If not, they will return to the en of the line (if there is one) before being allowed to try again. Only one person at a time may perform the task.

The team members start:
1) DAVID
2) AL
3) JON
4) TIAN
5) CHUCK
6) REICHEN

And finish:
1) David (1st attempt)
2) Al (1st attempt)
3) Jon (1st attempt)
4) Tian (3rd attempt)
5) Chuck (1st attempt)
6) Reichen (1st attempt)

Teams are directed to take their taxis to Beach Road in Alleppey. They arrive:
1) David/Jeff
2) Jon/Al
3) Kelly/Jon
4) Tian/Jaree
5) Millie/Chuck
6) Reichen/Chip

And encounter a:

Baskets <--DETOUR--> Trunks

Teams selecting BASKETS must load 10 live chickens into baskets, and place the baskets onto a traditional bike-wagon. Then, one person must pedal the bike to a farm circled on a provided map, whilst the other runs alongside navigating.

Teams selectign TRUNKS must load two bales of fabric onto an elephant, and then ride the elephant through the streets to a fabric shop circled on a provided map.

All teams (except for Reichen/Chip) choose BASKETS. Teams arrive at their destination and finish the task:
1) David/Jeff
2) Jon/Al
3) Kelly/Jon
4) Millie/Chuck
5) Reichen/Chip
6) Tian/Jaree, who forgot to load their fabric onto the elephant

The final clue of this leg tells teams to travel in an auto-rickshaw (also known as a tuk-tuk) to the Pit Stop at The Finishing Point, an area near Punamata Lake {sp?} where the local yacht race finishes. The teams check-in:

1) David/Jeff, who win a seven-night cruise to the Hubbard Glacier from Royal Caribbean. (And Royal Caribbean win an award for Not Wasting Precious TAR Time Telling Us How Good Their Product Placement Prizes Are, Are You Listening, Travelocity?!.)
2) Jon/Al
3) Kelly/Jon
4) Millie/Chuck
5) Reichen/Chip
6) Tian/Jaree, who are eliminated.

[raceguy120390]

DISCLAIMER: Even with my obsessive knowledge of TAR, there remain a few select episodes I have not seen - one episode of TAR Asia 2, the TAR2 finale (yes, I do know what I'm missing), and this one, to be exact. That said, it is obviously impossible for me to create this timeline on my own with no assistance whatsoever. I would like to thank whoever attwmpts to write the CBS recaps, whoever comes up with the previouslies for the episodes, and the wonderful Miss Alli over at TWoP for their unintentional assistance. A thank-you bag of peanuts is in the mail. (Okay, CBS already has enough of them... I'll think of something nice.)

SEASON FOUR, LEG 4 - THE TIMELINE

Money for this leg: $440.00.

Day Eight
January 25, 2003

After an extended Pit Stop in Gmunden, Austria, and no visit to Gmund at all, teams depart from the Seeschloss Orth:
2:57am - Steve/Josh
+54min - Monica/Sheree (3:51am)
+56min - Reichen/Chip (3:53am)
+60min - Tian/Jaree (3:57am)
+106min - Millie/Chuck (4:43am)
+110min - Jon/Al (4:47am)
+120min - David/Jeff (4:57am)
+123min - Kelly/Jon (5:00am)
+187min - Steve/Dave (6:04am)

The first clue directs teams to fly to Paris. Then, they will have to get to the Le Mans racetrack (isn't that a different kind of Amazing Race?) for the next clue. The catch? Teams are not told which airport to go to. Munich is a bigger hub, but requires teams to cross the border into Germany first. Salzburg is smaller, but does not require any international travel to get to.

Steve/Josh plan to get to Salzburg by train, expecting the other teams to show up. Nobody does, and they take the train alone.

Monica/Sheree, Reichen/Chip, and Tian/Jaree all get to Salzburg airport by taxi.

Millie/Chuck, Jon/Al and David/Jeff head to the Attnang train station, and take a train to Munich. Kelly/Jon take the same train, but get off at Salzburg.

Steve/Dave take a later train to Salzburg.

-----

From the airports, teams book flight routes as follows:

Tian/Jaree, Monica/Sheree
Salzburg -> Frankfurt -> Paris.

Reichen/Chip
Salzburg -> Frankfurt [the same flight as the above teams] -> Paris

Steve/Josh
Salzburg -> Zurich -> Paris.

Millie/Chuck, Jon/Al, David/Jeff
Munich -> Paris

Kelly/Jon, Steve/Dave
Salzburg -> Zurich -> Paris

In Paris, all teams wind up at the Montparnasse train station, and take trains to Le Mans as follows:

11:05am - Monica/Sheree
Noon - Tian/Jaree, Reichen/Chip
? - Steve/Josh, David/Jeff, Jon/Al, Millie/Chuck

At Le Mans, teams take cabs from the train station to the racetrack, and arrive:

1) Monica/Sheree
2) Tian/Jaree
3) Reichen/Chip
4) Millie/Chuck
5) Jon/Al
6) David/Jeff
7) Steve/Josh
8) Kelly/Jon
9) Steve/Dave

And encounter a:

R(/)ADBL(/)CK
"The person who performs this task should be able to fit into a tight space."

In this week's RoadBlock, the first time ever that the RoadBlock has been performed before the Detour, the chosen team member must enter the pits, put on a protective jumpsuit and change four tyres on a racecar. Then, they will ride with a professional driver around a high-speed lap of the track. When they return to the pits, they will be given their next clue. The chosen team members start in the same order they arrive, and finish:

1) Monica
2) Chip
3) Jaree
4) Jon (w/Al)
5) Chuck, who is hot and tight. And hot and tight.
6) Jeff
7) Josh
8) Kelly
9) Dave

The clue received directs teams to choose a marked car, drive 550 miles to Marseilles, and find the Phare Ste. Marie lighthouse (yes, I am aware I just said lighthouse twice), then climb it to get the next clue. To get to the lighthouse, they must go through a gate which is closed for the night. Teams arrive at the gate:

1) Reichen/Chip
2) Tian/Jaree
3) David/Jeff
4) Monica/Sheree
5) Steve/Dave
6) Steve/Josh
7) Jon/Al
8) Millie/Chuck
9) Kelly/Jon

Reichen/Chip and Tian/Jaree go to a hotel for the night after being turned away at the gate. The other teams all sleep in their cars overnight.

Day Nine
January 26, 2003

Reichen/Chip and Tian/Jaree return to the gate in the morning. Tian/Jaree are told to park next to the gate because there are too many cars on the off-ramp, and Reichen/Chip ignore the other cars and drive up to the gate. After a long, stupid argument, the gate opens, and Tian/Jaree and Reichen/Chip all the others to enter first. They follow a provided map to the lighthouse, and arrive:

1) Kelly/Jon
2) Jon/Al
3) David/Jeff
4) Monica/Sheree
5) Reichen/Chip
6) Mille/Chuck
7) Steve/Dave
8) Steve/Josh
9) Tian/Jaree

They are now told to drive to the Gorges du Blavet, and find a marked parking lot. they will park their cars there, and follow a path to the next cluebox.

Tian/Jaree waste a lot of time trying to find the gorge, and instead decide to attempt this leg's

FAST FORWAR|>|>

They must head to a museum in Marseilles (which I was unable to discover the name of) and use twenty giant square puzzle pieces to construct a picture of the Pit Stop on a wall.

Tian/Jaree manage this easily, and are given a smaller framed picture of the Pit Stop, which has the clue attached to the back of it. They can now drive directly to the Chateau des Alpilles, in the town of Aix-en-Provence.

Meanwhile, the other teams find the cluebox at Gorges du Blavet:

2) David/Jeff
3) Jon/Al
4) Kelly/Jon
5) Millie/Chuck
6) Monica/Sheree
7) Steve/Dave
8) Reichen/Chip
9) Steve/Josh

It's this week's...

Ropes <--DETOUR--> Slopes

In an almost exact copy of last season's Detour in Portugal, teams selecting ROPES must rappel 300 feet down a cliff, whilst teams choosing SLOPES must hike down a long path to the same cluebox. Yawn.

All teams choose ROPES, and arrive at the cluebox at the base:

2) Jon/Al, who ran past the cluebox
3) Kelly/Jon
4) Monica/Sheree
5) Millie/Chuck, who ran past the cluebox
6) David/Jeff, who ran past the cluebox
7) Reichen/Chip
8) Steve/Dave
9) Steve/Josh

The teams must now return to their cars and drive 150 miles to Aix-en-Provence, and find the Pit Stop at the Chateau des Alpilles. They check-in:
1) Tian/Jaree
2=) Millie/Chuck
2=) Jon/Al
4) Monica/Sheree
5) Reichen/Chip
6) David/Jeff
7) Kelly/Jon
8) Steve/Dave
9) Steve/Josh, who are eliminated.

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