FILIPINA BEAUTIES IN ASIA'S NEXT TOP MODEL SEASON 3

Aside from Georgina Wilson, who is the host, three more Filipina beauties will be seen in the new season of Asia's Next Top Model.

Out of the 14 girls, 3 lucky Filipinas were included in the final cast. Other contestants are from Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia and Hong Kong.

Here are the profiles of the 3 Filipinas from the show's official website:

AMANDA

Full Name: Amanda Bianca Chan
Nickname: None
Age: 17
Height: 176cm
Country: Philippines
Occupation: Student
Favourite Feature: Legs
Worst Feature: Feet
Favourite Model: Cara Delevingne
Favourite Designer: Steve Madden
Phobias: Heights

This season’s youngest contestant, Amanda has grown up following the Top Model franchise. A self-confessed klutz, she has long dreamed of gracefully walking down runways like her favourite celebrity models. Amanda first tried her hand at modelling a year ago when she caught the eye of model scouts.

Her inexperience means Amanda is a sponge just waiting to soak up all the knowledge she will gain through quiet observation of her fellow competitors. The other girls will have to keep an eye on Amanda and her innate ability to learn and adapt as she transforms throughout the competition.

FRANCHESCA

Full Name: Franchesca Denise Lagua
Nickname: Chesca
Age: 23
Height: 172cm
Country: Philippines
Occupation: Model
Favourite Feature: Teeth / legs
Worst Feature: Nose
Favourite Model: Kendall Jenner
Favourite Designer: Vera Wang
Phobias: Flying cockroaches

Long hair, good looks and legs for days – Franchesca seems to have it all. She’s been modelling in her native Philippines for the past five years and is ready to take the next step in her career. Her brilliant smile will leave you breathless but behind those pearly whites lies a driven woman who is ready to step out into the world of international modelling.

She has never been far from her loved ones and is rarely away from her model boyfriend. Franchesca’s biggest challenge will be finding her footing and learning to be truly independent. Fellow competitors should watch out for this girl who’s got all the right assets to win Top Model!

MONIKA

Full Name: Marlena Monika Sta Maria
Nickname: Monika / Mon
Age: 23
Height: 177cm
Country: Philippines
Occupation: Model
Favourite Feature: Freckles
Worst Feature: Kinky baby hair on my hairline
Favourite Model: Candice Swanepoel
Favourite Designer: Michael Cinco
Phobias: Flying cockroach

This stunning model is also a huge health nut. Monika played competitive volleyball before deciding to pursue modelling full-time after falling in love with the fashion industry. With her unflappable personality and amazing good looks, it’s not hard to see why she’s gained a strong following in her native Philippines.

Monika wants people to know that modelling isn’t just about being a pretty face – there’s a lot of skill and hours of hard work at the gym involved in making sure you’re runway-ready. Having tried out for Cycle 2, she decided to return and come back even more determined to be selected. Incredibly competitive, Monika will do everything in her power to clinch the top prize and become Asia’s Next Top Model.


I really hope that this is the season that a Filipina will win the title. After 2 season of runner up finishes (Stephanie in Cycle 1 and Katarina and Jodily in Cycle 2), It is high time that Asia sees how beautiful and good Filipina models are.

You can catch the show every Wednesdays, 8:45pm on Star World.

P.S. Monika is the current girlfriend of another reality show star, Charlie Sutcliffe of Juan Direction and Team Juan D of The Amazing Race Philippines Season 2.

All profiles and pictures are from the official website of Asia's Next Top Model

AMAZING RACE SEASON 25 IS IN THE PHILIPPINES!

Finally, the US version of The Amazing Race is back in the Philippines. I remember that the last time that the show visited the Philippines was way back in Season 5 when I was still a college student in 2004. Ten years later, it took 20 seasons before TAR is back in my home country.

The first place that they visited was Baclaran Church where teams needs to find a flower vendor to receive their clue.

They were next instructed to take a jeep to the Rosario Municipal Plaza and look for Salina's Special. Here is a peek at the jeepney experience of the teams:

The next clue was for a detour, a choice between Catch or Coach. In Catch, teams get to experience to be a fisherman a fill 3 container full of fish. Only the wrestlers did this task:

In Coach, teams needs to assemble a tricycle before they receive their next clue. This task was chosen by the dentists, the candy girls and the surfers:

They were then instructed to go to the rice fields were they were asked to do a same challenge that was done in Season 5 where Colin had his very famous "My Ox is Broken" breakdown. This challenge was also done in the current season of the Amazing Race Philippines. Teams have to search for a clue in a rice field by plowing into it.

The next is a foot race to the nearby pit stop and as expected, this is a non-elimination leg. Teams are just a few minutes behind each other. I think this is the first time that I see all teams together in the same pit stop.

I think this season really provided a more realistic image of the Philippines as compared to Season 5. Some of the teams liked it here, some of the teams don't. One of the best things in this episode is the fact that they took different modes of transportation common in the country (cab from the airport, jeep to Rosario and tricycle in Cavite). 

Here are the teams reactions on their experience in the Philippines so far.

The next leg is still in the Philippines, and it looks like teams will have to experience pedicabs and basketball.

All videos are from the Official The Amazing Race YouTube channel.

6 THINGS WE LEARNED FROM LEG 9 OF THE AMAZING RACE PHILIPPINES SEASON 2

It is the 2nd to last leg and the last team was eliminated. The top 3 teams who will race to the finish line has just been revealed. So what did we learn from this leg of the race?

1. Finally, Team Mr. Pogi wins a leg!

After having a very shaky start and steadily inching their way up the rankings, Team Mr. Pogi won a race leg. As I have said in my previous post, what is working for them in this race is their teamwork and communication. But what was evident in the past few legs was that they really know their strengths and weaknesses and they are maximizing these. Plus their positive attitude and very calm disposition, they are really in the race now!

2. YIELD should not discourage you at all.

If Team Dating Couple did not have the Yield this leg, they might have won this leg, or it might have been a footrace. They really proved that nothing can stop them and even if the teams are ganging up on them, they will find a way to overcome the obstacles on their way. If there will be a Yield or a U-Turn on the last leg (which  I wish there will be none), this team will definitely still be the target. One thing they still need to improve is their communication, because it has been a factor going against them in the last few legs.

3. You should not ever give up - unless the you are eliminated.

Team Chefs has some unlucky things going their way in this leg, from the pastel challenge to getting the clue in the white water rafting to the bike challenge to the combination lock challenge, Team Chefs was trailing almost the whole leg. But it was in the combination lock challenge that Chef Roch almost gave up. After trying so many times and she was not able to open any of the locks, she almost broke down and got frustrated. But luck is still in their side when she was able to finish the challenge on her next try. But they were able to overtake another team in the last challenge. They need to be more confident of themselves in the last leg if they want to win the race.

4. Word of the day - MALAS

Team Magkapatid has been a very strong team all through out the race. They have been in the top 3 in all of the legs. Unfortunately, their race ended in this leg - when they finished fourth just because of the word "malas". But what they said in the pit stop was correct. They were not one of the teams that I initially picked to win - but they proved themselves leg after leg that they are a team that the other teams should not overlook. They communicated very well and they were very strategic, offering alliances and working with other teams on who to Yield or U-Turn. They ran a great race but there will only one winner and today is not their day.

5. The Amazing Race Philippines is just intense!

We have been witnessing so much intensity and competitiveness in the past 9 weeks that the season has been aired. But this leg also show how intense the race is even off camera. There was an injury that needed to be attended to - after Chef Eji injured his knee in the carabao race task in leg 8. But the fight between Team Magkapatid and Team Dating Couple showed how much emotions the teams are investing in this race. It just started with a simple high and escalated to shoving, shouting and threats. And that is really intense!

6. 1 more episode - who will win the race?

Now that we know that the top 3 teams are Team Mr. Pogi, Team Dating Couple and Team Chefs, who will win this race? The winner will be known in the 1 hour special finale episode tomorrow. These are 3 strong teams that will race to the finish and tomorrow's episode will definitely be an exciting one! No predictions, I don't want to jinx any of the teams - but I definitely think all of the 3 remaining teams deserve to win!

Images are from the following: @margienatividad in Twitter, Team Magkapatid's Official Facebook Page, 

8 THINGS WE LEARNED FROM LEG 8 OF AMAZING RACE PHILIPPINES SEASON 2

We are now down to the homestretch of the race - after leg 8 was finished last Saturday. So here are the things we learned in the week before the finale week.

1. Team Dating Couple is now back on top.

Team Dating Couple is now back on top, and grabbed first for the 4th time in this race. The slowly inched their way to the top after finishing 5th in leg 5; to 4th, to 2nd - and now in 1st. They really proved they are the team to beat this season. But unfortunately, this would now put a big target in their backs in the final leg - and expect then to get the U-Turn or the Yield in the last leg of the race.

2. Team Magkapatid wins Most Consistent Team Award this season

Always the bridesmaid, never the bride - this is how I feel about Team Magkapatid. They finished 3rd four times and 2nd four times during the entire leg but never finished first. The consistency is good since they never went down and remained competitive but when will they get that top spot? Yes, they have never been in danger of going home and they manage to stay at the top 3 spots - but only 1 team will be declared as the winners of this race. So they need too step up if they want to win in the race.

3. Team Chefs will not go down without a fight

In this leg, Team Chefs finished 3rd, barely beaten by Team Magkapatid at the pit stop. Team Chefs has been very competitive in the past few legs but has been very inconsistent. They have gone up then down then up again in the rankings. What is working for them is their teamwork and their positive attitude but they can easily panic at some points. Will Chef Eji's knee injury which prevented them to race for 2nd place in this leg affect their race as well?

4. Team Mr. Pogi is the favorite underdog in this race

Team Mr. Pogi completed the cast of 4 teams that will race in the finale week. Who would have thought that this team will reach the last week? They have been in the bottom half of the pack in the first 6 legs of the race and was almost eliminated in leg 4. But these Miracle Boys, as they have coined themselves, have surprised us by steadily making their way up the rankings. Their good teamwork and positive attitude has been working wonders for this team but what is making miracles for them is their good luck. In the Rock task, they easily got their clue even if they got the trivia questions wrong. Thy were so lucky that when the rocks were unloaded, the clue was swept away by the wind and was not covered by the rocks. This gave them an edge over Team Nerds and eventually advanced to the finale week.

5. Double Elimination leg - I never saw that twist coming!

I was doing the math last week since it was advertised that there is only 2 weeks remaining for the show. Therefore, there will be 2 or 3 more eliminations before the last episode. But I never thought that there will be a double elimination. This has been done before in the US version (Season 10 Leg 1 - but one in the middle of the leg and another in the pit stop and in Season 19 Leg 2), I did not see this coming at all. To make it more surprising, the teams eliminated were Team Nerds and Team Mag-ama - two of the most competitive teams in the race. It was really sad to see both of these teams go. Team Nerds surprised everyone when they finished 1st on the first leg but they just cannot recover from the back of the pack. On the other hand, Team Mag-ama has been doing very well but has been the target of the Yield since they are a very strong team, and this really affected their race.

6. Eye on the prize!

This leg was a great leg and a very challenging one. One of the things that struck me the most was that this leg emphasised how important our eyes are. In the Batchoy challenge, it was keen observation and an eye for details that was key to get the next clue. Team Dating Couple and Team Mag-ama wasted so much time looking for clues every where in and out of the store - not paying attention to this small sign where they will find the next clue. In the Blindfold challenge, teams got a taste on what a blind person is experiencing everyday. And it was really touching to see the teams' reaction when they saw Tammy and Marvi.

 7. All teams are in game mode already

The race is on! This is what leg 8 showed us. All teams are in it to win it. In the ferry to Iloilo, the teams all agreed to U-Turn AJ and Jody since they are a strong team and they were saved from elimination. In the Batchoy challenge, no team shared the clue when they found the small sign on the store's wall. In the Zombie task, no information was shared by the teams when they found the clue. Team Mr. Pogi even lied to Team Mag-ama. This only shows that even a slight advantage can be used to get ahead and it is critical since the race is in the home stretch already.

8. The last leg promises to be an intense and emotional one

The last week will always be the best. The preview for the last leg promises so much - someone will get hospitalized, teams will fight and the race for the grand prize will be concluded. A few more days left before we get to know the season winners!

Images are from @margienatividad in Twitter

9 THINGS WE LEARNED FROM LEG 7 OF AMAZING RACE PHILIPPINES SEASON 2

My birthday week just finished, same as the 7th leg of the 2nd season of The Amazing Race Philippines. This is the most eventful week so far, so without further ado, here are the things we learned from this leg:

1. Team Chefs is in it to win it

Team Chefs has been flying under the radar for so long in this race. Actually, they are the most inconsistent team, going up and down the leader board. But in this leg, they showed that they are here to win, and they can do it. They have so many things going for them in this leg, they are so lucky and they have the right strategy in the tasks. I think one of the things that helped them was that they were not driving in this leg, and Chef Eji is able to rest and conserve his energy. If they sustain this momentum, they are really a contender for the grand prize.

2. Team Dating Couple is back at the top, but they race hard and fight hard as well

Team Dating Couple went down to the 4th and 5th place in the last couple of legs, mainly due to the fact that they were the target of the Yield and U-Turn because of their strong showing in the earlier legs. They were able to bounce back but what was shown in this episode is their communication problem. They fought hard in this leg, even to the point of hurting each other and calling each other idiot or stupid. Communication is key in this race and they need to patch things up at the pit stop or this will be a big factor in the race.

3. Team Magkapatid is still consistent - at being so close to winning the leg

Too close yet still too far. I think that is the best phrase to describe the race that Team Magkapatid has ran so far. They finished 3rd in this leg, for the 3rd consecutive time and 4th time in the race (adding to the 3 2nd place finish they had as well). They are greatly complimenting each other, maybe because they really now the strength and weaknesses of each other. They have also been very supportive of each other and have been communicating well. Unfortunately, the ability to finish first have never come their way. Wit 3 legs left, they need to find a way to get to the top.

4. The Miracle continues for Team Mr. Pogi

Team Mr. Pogi went down to the middle of the pack, but this is still an acceptable finish as compared to the rankings they had in the first 5 legs of the race. From leg 4 where they called themselves Miracle Boys, they went from narrowly escaping elimination to being a contender. With their charms and their improved communication, they are definitely an under dog team to watch for. They proved last leg that they can finish strong by getting 2nd place and they can easily bounce back from here..

5. Team Nerds is tired, very tired.

If you look at the teams, you will most probably pick Team Nerds as one of the teams to go home first. But they surprised everyone by topping the first leg and staying in the race up to this point. They also know that they lack the physicality and stamina that the other teams have. And it shows in this leg, they gave up in the hammock challenge and look so tired. But I think, in this race, it was the correct strategy that they had to take in this leg. They know that they will not be able to finish the challenge so they have to gamble to take the penalty and watch and pray that another team will not be able to complete the task - and it s just what happened. At the pit stop, they told Derek that they think they do not deserve to be there, I think otherwise. The choice they made was the correct strategy, but they have to bounce back from here and prove themselves if they want to win.

6. Team Mag-ama are true competitors - with never give up attitude

My hats off to Daddy AJ in this episode. He just never give up. In the color game challenge, even though they were the last team there, he never gave up. In the hammock challenge, despite the sprain and all the fall he had, he never gave up. But the big surprise in this leg is how Jody supported AJ during the hammock task. In the previous tasks, Jody usually easily loses his cool and would shout at and blame his dad for the lost time. But in this task, Jody was very supportive of his dad. They are very lucky that this is a non-elimination leg. They need to focus in the race and come back strong.

7. The tasks are not getting easier, they just get harder and harder

This is the most challenging leg so far. All the challenges are hard. From the color run and the color game, to the snake challenge, to the ice or paddle detour, to the coconut and hanging bridge task and the hammock task; their is no time to rest for the racers. And if this is a preview of what is still to come in the next legs, it will definitely be a race to watch out for!


8. The name of the game is never give up - but strategy is king

Despite a very hard task, Team Mag-ama never give up until the end up to the point that they were told not to continue and will be given a penalty. They were very lucky that the leg was a pre-determined non-elimination leg. As discussed above, I think the strategy that the Team Nerds had was a correct strategy but was very risky. What they could have done better is convince another team to also take the penalty so that the leg will end in a footrace to the mat, and not wait and pray that another team will not finish the task. What if Team Mag-ama was able to finish the challenge? Team Nerds will be at the bottom of the rankings. Strategy is still key to winning the race.

9. Three more weeks, three more legs

Tonight is the start of the 8th leg and this season will only have 10 legs. With 3 legs to go, it will definitely be a race to survive. But doing the math, if one team will each be eliminated in legs 8 and 9, 4 teams will be racing in the last leg, which is a deviation from the usual 3 team finale. So it will either be a double elimination in one leg or one team will be eliminated in one of the legs - probably in leg 10. Let's watch and see!

Images are from @margienatividad account in Twitter

9 things we learned from leg 6 of amazing race philippines season 2

the 2nd part of the super leg of the 2nd season of the amazing race philippines has just been concluded. here are the things we learned from the show's 6th leg:

1. team mag-ama is in it to win it

team mag-ama is the only team that has never gone down in the rankings. they have either improved or maintained their ranking. for this super leg, they maintained their first place ranking from the start of leg 6 up to the pit stop. what is working for them is that (1) jody drives fast and (2) they are very competitive and has been very lucky.

but both aj and jody needs to improve how they communicate with each other. jody has been shouting to daddy aj and daddy aj has been quite hard headed as well. this might affect their standings in the race, especially if in challenges that needs patience and teamwork.

2. and the miracle continues... team mr. pogi is now number 2!

and the miracle boys did it again! and in this leg, they did not just escaped elimination but they entered the top 3 for the first time, finishing in 2nd place. what is working for this pair (aside from the miracle), is that they have found how to work effectively with each other. after their heated exchange of words in leg 3, they somewhat changed their attitude and have worked harmoniously. they know each other's strength and weaknesses. and they are letting the one who is better in the task to take the lead and has been positively supporting each other. if they continue to race this way, they will definitely be one of the teams to watch for.

3. team dating couple is still a big threat to everyone

team dating couple has been the recipient of the yield or the u-turn for the past 3 legs. this only means that the other teams still thinks that this team is still a big threat in the race. but this might just change after team dating couple finished fourth after this leg (and fifth in leg 5). we can also see that matt and phoebe have started to get into each other's nerves. it can also be seen in the taxi scene in the next leg's preview. they have to be patient with each other to get back in this race.

i also do not want the fact that either the u-turn or the yield is in each of the leg. this is a variation from the US version where the yield or the u-turn on appears once or twice in the race. another variation is that all teams has to vote on who will be awarded the u-turn or the yield. i am okay with the voting but adding it in every leg is quite an overkill.

4. team chefs and team magkapatid has to step it up

these 2 teams have ran contrasting races so far. on one side, team magkapatid has been the most consistent team in this race. they have only placed either 2nd or 3rd so far. on the other hand, team chefs has been the most inconsistent team in this race. they have so many ups and downs so far.

but what is common with these teams? both are strong teams but both cannot finish in 1st place. team magkapatid finished in 2nd 3 times and team chefs finished in 2nd twice, but never first. both teams need to step it up and finish strong in the next legs to stay in the race.

5. team nerds is in the brink of elimination

team nerds impressed everyone by finishing 1st in leg 1. unfortunately, they are the only team that has constantly gone down the rankings in all pit stops (not including the virtual one). they are already in the brink of elimination and they need to keep their focus and do something drastic to stay in the race. they might need to ask for the miracle from team mr. pogi.

i really agree with what they said in the pit stop that what they lack is endurance. they know that they are in the disadvantage physically as compared to the other teams but i do believe they are strong mentally and strategically and they just have to believe that they can still survive up to the last leg.

6. finally, i saw an airplane!

i was quite disappointed that the teams has not yet gone out of the luzon archipelago after 5 legs. the disappointment disappeared after monday's episode where teams were instructed to catch a flight to cebu.

visayas here we come!

we all know that the in the history of the amazing race, flights has been the great equalizer of the race (aside from hours of operation). what is funny is that in this leg, the 7 teams got into 6 different flight, only team dating couple and team nerds travelled together. looking forward to more flights in the next legs!

7. you live and die by your taxi driver

borrowing the saying from the amazing race asia season 2 runner ups marc and rovilson, it is a common fact in the race that taxi drivers have a huge impact in the race. in this leg in particular, almost all teams are complaining that the cebu taxi drivers drive too slow as compared to their manila counterparts.

it was team chefs who was really affected since their taxi driver is really slow. chef roch has been very vocal to him and has asked him several times to drive faster but he never obliged. in the end, team chefs finished only in 5th place.

8. the tasks are getting harder

there is no easy task in this leg. from the construction task in cavite, finding the clue in parian monument, the roadblock mountain bike challenge (which i prefer to call the semplang task), the duel in fort san pedro, the detour of martial arts or art of cooking and the sinulog task, everything was hard. considering that this is a super leg, these tasks test all aspects - physical, mental, skills and patience.

what is also very evident is the sponsors in some of the tasks. the construction challenge featured rcd royal homes and the mountain bike task has the logo of rexona everywhere. i think the construction task was the odd challenge since from ilocos, they have to go back to cavite just for this task. there are airports in laoag and clark that offers flights to cebu. laoag flights are connecting in manila and is flying daily and clark flights are direct and is flying 3 times a week. this could have been a good equalizer in the race.

9. team sexy besties will be missed... and they went out with a bang!

team sexy besties was the last team to check in at the pit stop and was eliminated. we will definitely miss them. despite being in the bottom half in most of the race, this team will be remembered for their care free ways and being very relaxed.

but their elimination was overshadowed with what happened at the pit stop. host derek ramsay called out the pair for giving up and disrespecting the other teams that wants to get in the race. i think yes, at times, the team gave up (ex. wall climbing task in leg 2 and giving way to team nerds in the duel task in leg 6) but this pair gave it all in the race. in the end, they still finished the leg and did not quit during the race. i think what derek did was somewhat uncalled for.

images are from margie natividad's twitter account, chef roch's facebook account and team nerd's facebook account

10 things we learned from the amazing race philippines season 2 leg 5

here are the things we learned from leg 5 of amazing race philippines season 2:

1. team mag-ama has a fighting chance if they work together

this is team mag-ama's first time to win a leg after finishing in the top 5 in all the previous legs. what worked for them in this leg is that they worked more as a team this leg and bickered less. but of course, they were really lucky this leg, especially in the araro task and the salt task. they can really compete for the grand prize if they maintain this attitude.

2. not only team mag-ama had a good leg, team chefs also had a breakout leg

in my last blog entry, i wrote that team mag-ama and team chefs have to get out of the middle of the pack and finish strong. and in this leg, that is exactly what both teams did. the chefs stayed in the middle in the first few task but it was their last push in the end that got them to 2nd place. what is working for this team is their good disposition and their positive attitude. and i think chef roch's power hug at the pit stop is working its magic.

3. team dating couple can be beaten

team dating couple finished 5th in this leg after three straight legs of finishing on top. their consistent showing in the first four legs has put a big target on their back. for the second straight leg, they were delayed since the other teams all voted for them and they were awarded the u-turn. what is also hurting them is that they are starting to get into each other's nerves. they are fighting more often as compared to the previous legs. they have to regroup after this if they want to regain that top spot.

4. team magkapatid is the most consistent team - finishing in the top 3 but never 1st

team magkapatid again finished in the top 3 of the leg, slipping down to 3rd place. even though they are in the top 3, they still failed to get that top spot. they still need to keep their focus, where they lost in this leg a few times. special mention on the rock stacking task where jet enjoyed gathering the stones over stacking them. eye on the prize guys!


5. team nerds is the unluckiest team this leg

team nerds finished strong at 4th place even after a series of unfortunate events. before the rock stacking challenge, vince fell off the horse. at the sand dunes task, they also had a hard time finding the correct station, the clues even flying out of their hands because of the winds. they even got lost before the salt task. what is working for them is that they are working well together as a team, they do not fight and they do not fight at all. they need to go back to the race mode that they had in the first leg where they finished on top. hope #teammalas ends soon!

6. who is the luckiest team? the miracle continues for team mr. pogi

after making us believe in miracle last week, the lucky streak continues for team mr. pogi. after proving their teamwork last week, they really got their act together and avoided finishing last again! only team mag-ama can argue that they are the luckiest team this leg but i think the good breaks still went to team mr. pogi. if they continue to have that positive attitude, good teamwork and avoid being lost, team mr. pogi can barge into the top 5 in the next leg.

7. team sexy besties got a 2nd chance

this is a virtual pit stop, and the race continues. in the US version, this is commonly called the "to be continued" leg. that is why team sexy besties was not eliminated even if they finished last. they need to embrace this opportunity and get back into the fighting form that they had in the first two legs. do you remember how rr was pushing jeck during the wall climbing task? they need to go regroup and go back to that never say die attitude.

8. yield and u-turn will be a big part of the race

in the US version, u turn and yield appear once or twice in the whole race and can be used by any team only once in the race. if you decide to use it, you can only use it on the team that is behind you so you can build a good lead between you and that team. but this season, it has been in all legs and is decided through voting, so any team can be u-turned or yielded. if all the legs will have u turn or a yield, it wil definitely have a big impact on the race.

9. the tasks are getting more familiar

we can see similarities of some tasks in this leg to previous tasks of other seasons of the amazing race. the araro task was the famous plow detour in leg 11 of the 5th season of the amazing race. this is the task where colin coined the famous line "my ox is broken." the massage task of the detour is a variation of the turkish bath task in tunisia in leg 4 of the 1st season of amazing race. the music task in the detour is very similar to the BINGO task in the 1st leg of the first season of the amazing race philippines. the salt task is somewhat similar to the salt detour in mauritius where teams needs to find a salt shaker in a pile of salt. this was in the 7th leg of the 10th season of the US version.

10. ilocos is such a beautiful place

this leg just shows how beautiful ilocos is. i have been wanting to go to ilocos for quite sometime now and this leg made me more excited to go there soon!

images are from the following:
1. margie natividad's twitter page
2. team magkapatid's facebook page
3. team nerds' facebook page

9 things we learned from amazing race philippines season 2 leg 4

it is already the 4th leg of the 2nd season of the amazing race philippines. the race is really getting exciting and we are still learning a lot as the race progress.

so here are the 10 things that we learned from this week's leg:

1. team dating couple is still the team to beat

this is the 3rd straight leg that team dating couple finished first and they have never finished out of the top 3. i think this team is very competitive and this has helped them keep their lead. in this leg, they were even yielded by all the other teams but their lead was huge enough that even with the time penalty that was imposed to them due to unsafe driving did not matter and no one arrived in the last task after the time penalty.

but this team needs to watch out because they now have a huge target at their back. it was evident in the yield voting that their past actions really affected the team's votes. they need to rebuild their relationships with the other teams or they will be the target in the next u-turn or yield.

2. team magkapatid is still a big threat, but finishing 2nd is never good enough

if this leg is team dating couple's 3rd first place finish, incidentally, it is also team magkapatid's 3rd runner up finish. these two teams are the only teams that has never been out of the top 3. what is working for this team is that they know each other very well. jet has been the typical kuya and has been controlling their race, in a good way.

the team has been communicating way and both are willing to listen. i like their disposition in the race, they still appear calm and they panic less as compared to the other teams. but evidently, running is not one of their strengths. they were beaten in the season's first footrace to the mat. finishing 2nd is a good thing but finishing runner up this many times is quite frustrating. they need to step up and advance to the top spot.

3. team sexy besties needs to control their emotions

this leg gave us how the race stress is getting into the teams, especially into team sexy besties. their confrontation scene at the car on the way to the paint ball challenge was very intense, particularly rr. it was a good thing that jeck was able to control herself and just kept quiet. the words that were thrown during that confrontation can easily provoke rr and that could have easily blown to a big girl fight.

lucky for them, they easily patched things up and moved on as if nothing happened.

4. miracles do happen, ask the miracle boys (team mr. pogi)

during the start of this leg, team mr. pogi got lost and jp said that they are now called "miracle boys" because it will be a miracle if they still make it to the next leg. up to the last task in this leg, this team finished last in all task. but by a miracle or something, they were able to have a last ditch effort and was able to check in the pit stop at 7th place, escaping elimination. it only proves that you should never quit until derek tells you that you are eliminated.

in this leg, this team worked more in sync as compared to the previous legs. their car confrontation was really scary which almost led into a fist fight (or so we thought it would). but in this episode, they were more supportive of each other. i was impressed with jp, he was really motivating the kelvin during this race. but this team needs to step up and finish in a higher place and move out of the bottom.

5. the express pass did not make an impact in the race

after winning the first leg, team nerds was able to get the express pass. it is a free pass that the team needs to exchange for the clue if they decide not to do the task. as the nerds explained throught their twitter account, the express pass can only be used up to the 4th leg so they really need to use it in leg 4. (which is quite weird because in the US version, it can be used anytime in the race).

even though they really need to use it in this leg, i think they still used it in the wrong task. they can easily finish the paintball task but they had real bad luck in the last surf paddling task. i think they could have finished at a better placing if they used it in the last task.

6. team chefs and team mag-ama needs to get out of the middle of the pack

these two teams has consistently been in the middle of the pack and they need to improve their placings as well. team chefs finished 2nd in the 3rd leg but is now back to 4th. team mag-ama entered the top 3 for the first time in this leg and has improved their placing after each leg.

i think what both teams needs to improve on is their communication. team mag-ama has been fighting in several legs and their competitive nature is really showing in how they are running this race. on the other hand, if there is one team that i think is enjoying this race, it would be team chefs because they have the highest level of energy of all the teams, especially after finishing their tasks. but what they need to improve is their navigating skills because most of their fights are when they are trying to locate their next location.

7. luck is a big factor in this leg.

luck played a big factor in this leg. 2 tasks in this leg mainly rely on pure luck - the surfer's code task and the surf paddling task. it is a good way to even out the playing field for some teams but it can also be damaging to the unlucky teams.

aside from the luck challenges, there were also some unlucky moments in this leg. team blondies' car got stuck in the mud after the pottery task and they were stranded for quite a long while, allowing team sexy besties to overtake them and team mr. pogi to catch up with them. after the surfer code challenge, it was team mr. pogi's car that got stuck in the sand.

8. team blondies proved that they are a strong team

honestly, i picked team blondies as one of the first teams that will be eliminated. in the first leg, they were really outcasted and had to rely in their own skills and abilities to survive that leg. in the 3rd leg, they started the talk about the bottom teams alliance but that never got together. they made some mistakes along the way but they proved that they can do a lot of things on their own. they even out lasted team juan direction. it was sad to see them go but it is really their time.

9. the twitter party every night continues!

i really like the fact that the teams are interacting a lot with the fans during the episode. every night, almost all of the teams are live tweeting and are actively answering tweets of the fans. always present every night are team chefs, team magkapatid, team dating couple and team nerds. team mag-ama, team blondies, team mr. pogi and team sexy besties would retweet or favorite fan tweets.

team mr. pogi also had a new twitter gimmick this week. they launched #AskKelvin, where fans can ask anything to kelvin and he will reply back with the answer. so if you are a fan and is still not joining the twitter party every episode, make sure to tune in the show every 9pm and be online and tweet with the hashtag #AmazingRacePHILIPPINES

photos are from margie natividad's twitter account and team magkapatid's facebook fan page

amazing race philippines season 2 leg 3 review

the third leg started at taal, batangas and teams were instructed to board charter buses to manaoag, pangasinan. the first bus contains team dating couple, team magkapatid, team nerds, team chefs and team mag-ama. In the second bus were team mr. pogi, team juan direction, team sexy besties and team blondies. During the bus ride, the teams in the second bus were plotting to work together to eliminate team magkapatid because they think they are rich and don't need the prizes anymore. But team sexy besties declined the alliance and wanted to race fair.

upon arrival at the our lady of manaoag church, teams have to ask the stalls in front of the church "may clue ka ba para sa akin?" if they ask the correct stall, they will be given the next clue. the next clue instructed the teams to get a car key from the store and go to the back of the church, they need to find the kia sportage car that will be opened by the key and memorize a prayer. once they memorized the prayer, they will recite it to a priest that will perform the blessing rite to the car.

the 2 charter buses arrived only minutes apart so the lead that the first five teams got was gone. it was chaos at the market stall but almost all teams quickly found the stall. once again, it was team juan direction that made another mistake of not reading the clue as they did not get the car key before going to the back of the church. i do not know if they are not reading the clue of they simply do not understand the clue. fortunately, team blondies saved them and told them to get the keys from the store.

at the task, most of the teams did not actually memorize the prayer. only a few of them did. but the priest was quite easy to please and still made the blessing and gave them the next clue.

the teams then faced their roadblock at the magsaysay fish market in dagupan city. one of the team members need to carry two large buckets of fish from a marked boat to a marked stall inside the market. they need to transfer the fish into another large container before they receive their next clue. this challenge is very similar to one of the detour task in amazing race season 21 leg 2 (fish by the barrel task) in indonesia. in this task, it was team magkapatid who did not read the clue correctly they went directly to the market and not to the port where the boats are. yna even dropped one of the buckets in the water. and also team juan direction only brought 1 bucket of fish and had to go back which affected their performance in the race.

the next clue instructed them to proceed to the giant clam statue at the dagupan city plaza where they need to perform a dance routine from the bangus festival. this is the 2nd performance task after the priscilla task in leg 1. most of the teams (even team mag-ama who had a difficult time in priscilla) got the approval of the mayor. surprisingly, it was the performers (team sexy besties, team blondies and team juan direction) who had to repeat the routine.

the teams were then instructed to proceed to the blue beach in bonuan and find the statue of douglas macarthur. once they get the clue, they need to find macarthur's old office in pangasinan. his old office is now the west central elementary school. most of the teams opted to use the internet to find this place but it was team mr. pogi who had a heated argument in their car that almost led into a fist fight. nut fortunately, they were able to control their temper and moved on.

once at the school, teams need to find macarthur and pick up 3 items on his desk that is not related to world war 2. this is a hard task, even for the nerds. the first 5 teams (dating couple, magkapatid, nerds, chefs and mag-ama) immediately decided to work together and tell each other once one of them get the correct answer. team magkapatid reiterated to not give the clue to the otehr four teams which team sexy besties overheard.

it was team dating couple who got the answer correct. unfortunately for the nerds, the couple went inside after them, relegating them to the back of the line. being friends with team juan direction, edward of team dating couple also gave them the correct answer, making them ahead of the nerds.

the detour was next and the teams was asked to choose between inspection or operation. in inspection, teams need to get 5 evidences correctly in a murder crime scene. in operation, team needs to give the doctor the correct medical instruments that he needs. both task have a mandatory lecture or briefing before proceeding to the task. some of the teams did not get the task on their first try and needs to repeat it. in the operation task, since the nerds already memorized the instruments, they went out of the briefing without finishing it. team sexy besties complained about this and the nerds were told they need to finish the briefing and were put into last place.

after the detour, the teams need to find the u-turn board before they can proceed to the next destination. and again, it was team mr. pogi who was u-turned. contrary to the fight that they had before the detour, they remained calm and positive and finished the task quickly.

the teams were then instructed to go to bella's calasiao puto factory where they need to find a marked base of the puto amongst trays of 100's. this is another challenge that needs a lot of patience. ost of the teams had a a hard time finding the marked base and had to do more than 5 trays. i think it was only team nerds and team mr. pogi who got it on their first tray.

the teams then needs to proceed to the next pit stop, the lingayen capitol center where derek and ritz azul is waiting on the mat.

the final team standings after this leg is as follows:

1st - team dating couple
2nd - team chefs
3rd - team magkapatid
4th - team mag-ama
5th - team nerds
6th - team sexy besties
7th - team mr. pogi
8th - team blondies
9th - team juan direction

it was sad to see the most relaxed racers go and eliminated.

it is laso good to note that team chefs has barged into the top 3 in this leg and team nerds are nowin 5th place. this is team dating couples' 2nd first place finish. i would also like to commend team mr. pogi because of finishing 7th despite the u-turn in back to back legs.

what is very striking in this leg is the talk of making alliances. the top teams and the bottom teams attempted to form alliances in this leg of the race. being a fan of the show, in its history, alliances do not work in the race. your alliances can help you but it can also slow you dow and can even lead to your elimination. in this case, team dating couple is stuck between their alliance with the top teams and their friendship with team juan direction. this will really make them a target in the next legs.

tempers are still flaring here and there in this leg. team mag-ama and team mr. pogi need to watch their tempers in the next legs. team chefs are also starting to bicker when they are driving. team blondies also needs to find a way to get out of the bottom pack, same as team sexy besties and team mr. pogi. team mr. pogi needs to convince the other teams that they are not the biggest physical threat in the game to avoid any more u-turns or yield.

videos are from amazing race philippines official you tube channel

the amazing race philippines 2 leg 2 review

the second leg of the amazing race philippines started at resorts world manila even though leg 1 pit stop was at the manila post office. i don't know if this was a production error but this is the first time that a leg started in another location as compared to the pit stop the previous leg.

the teams were instructed to go to the city kart racing circuit in makati city. teams have to race individually against 4 other teams in the go kart race course. the top 3 teams with the fastest combined time of the 2 members will get the clue. the 2 remaining teams will again race against 3 other teams. aj of team mag-ama was formerly a race driver but his experience proved not to be an advantage as they lost the first round. pinay world champ also encountered difficulty in this challenge. the 2 teams that were left were team pinay world champs and team sexy besties. as a consequence, they have to complete 6 laps around the course before they receive their next clue. here is the teaser on the task for the october 13 episode:

the next clue instructed teams to proceed to the urban peak rock climbing gym at the lotus central mall in imus, cavite. this is the leg's roadblock. one member of the team needs to climb a wall and retrieve a bottle of summit mineral water at the top of the wall. the bottle has a number under the cap which they need to keep and will be used in the next challenges. most of the teams struggled in this challenge but it was only jeck of team sexy besties who gave up. they opted to get the 4 hour penalty. here is the video of jeck's moment at the wall:

the teams were then instructed to proceed bauan public market. the u-turn board is in play here. what is unique here is that all teams needs to vote who they want to u-turn, and the teams with the highest votes gets u-turned. unlike in the us version, only 1 team (or 2 if double u turn) can exercise the u-turn.

when the teams arrived at bauan public market, it was closed and will open only the next morning, allowing team sexy besties to catch up. the next task was a detour, a choice between fashion or fruits. in fashion, teams needs to dress up a manequin with clothes they bought at the market. the catch is when they finish, they will receive another envelope instructing them that they need to trade the clothes with clothes from the people in the market. in fruits, team has to buy a specified list of fruits with a given budget which they will trade for their next clue. here is the teaser for the episode showing the fruits detour task:

most teams initially choose fruits but due to the high price of the fruits in the market and also due to the heavy load, some teams switched detours. at the end of the task, teams were instructed to check out the u-turn board at the shrine of the our lady of lourdes to see who get u-turned. in this task, it was team mr. pogi and team juan direction who were u-turned.

in the next task, teams have to ride in one of the gondolas of the sky eye ferris wheel at the sky ranch in tagaytay city. each gondola has a clue envelope. some are the next clue but some will say try again. if they get the wrong clue envelope, they must go to the end of the line and ride again until they get the correct clue. the number of the gondola they will ride first will be the number at the cap of the summit mineral water that they retrieved in the roadblock. this is a similar challenge to amazing race season 1 episode 12 which they did at the singapore flyer.

it was really hard for the teams to find the right gondola but some of the teams got lucky. but team pinay world champ got the worst luck. they did not read the clue completely at the roadblock and they did not keep the bottle that they got at the wall climb.

as a consequence, all other teams needs to finish the task before the pinay world champ can start, which is a big blow to their time.

the next clue instructed the teams to go to the canyon cove resort where they need to dig for a clue amongst 100 sand castles. if they dig the wrong sand castle, they need to rebuild it before digging up another one. this is another similar challenge that was done in amazing race season 22 episode 1 which used 400 sand castles and 3 teams gave up and opted for the penalty.

this is a really hard challenge and tested the team's patience. most of the teams have to dig more than 70 sand castles to get the clue. some of the teams even fought during this challenge. it was really difficult once frustration sets in.

once they retrieve a souvenir item buried in the sand castle, they will need to go to the basilica de san martin de tours in taal, batangas which is the 2nd pit stop in this race. the order of arrival at the pit stop is as follows:

1st - team dating couple
2nd - team magkapatid
3rd - team nerds
4th - team chefs
5th - team mag-ama
6th - team blondies
7th - team mr. pogi
8th - team sexy besties
9th - team juan direction
10th - team pinay world champs

team pinay world champs did not recover from the error of throwing away the mineral water bottle. they arrived last at the pit stop and was eliminated. what was surprising was the video shown after the pit stop. luz and chen had a bitter exchange of unpleasantries and led to chen walking out. it was also revealed that the pair has not yet reconciled and has not talked to each other after the race. it is really sad that a fun race can end a friendship in an instant. i think it is their competitive nature as athletes that led to this argument.

this leg was a very exciting one. last week was a test of everything, this week was more of a test of patience. the gondola and sand castle task was clearly hard and was as challenging as their counterparts in the previous seasons of the US version. one thing unique is the u-turn execution. the u-turn will be voted by all teams and not by just one team.

it is also good to note that the top 3 teams remained the same, following a strong race from the dating couple, magkapatid and the nerds (surprise again!). the biggest climber in the standings was team chefs who climbed from 7th to 4th place. i am also impressed with team mr. pogi since they did not finished in the bottom 3 even after the u-turn. they got lot of luck in the sand castle task and easily found the clue. they even coined my line of the leg - "kapag hindi mo hinahanap, nagpapakita".

what also surfaced here is the character of the teams. jeck gave up on the wall climbing challenge can be an indication that she is not fully committed to the race. the temper of team mag-ama and team chefs are starting to manifest as well, which can harm them further in the race. i liked the positive attitude of team mr. pogi even after the u-turn.

i am really looking forward to the next leg and they will be moving to a new timeslot during weekdays at 9pm. this will be a better timeslot for me since I do not have to hurry home after work.

videos are from the Amazing Race Philippines YouTube channel