The Race Is On! is the season premiere of The Amazing Race Asia 5.
Story[]
Retrieved from AXN.com[1]
The Amazing Race Asia season 5 kicks off in the bustling city of Jakarta where 11 fearless teams from around Asia converge at the starting line. At Monas, the National Monument of Jakarta, host Allan Wu and co-host Tara Basro deliver the first shocking twist of the season – only 10 of the 11 teams will have a real shot at winning USD100,000. One team is set to be eliminated within the first, nail-biting 20 minutes of the episode.
Racing from Monas, teams dash to their first challenge to test their navigation skills: search walls of 1000 compasses to find one that reads 210 degrees south-west.
The teams are overwhelmed by the wall of compasses but Treasuri & Louisa know their directions and are the first to hand in their compass to Allan and Tara. After many rounds of guessing and presenting incorrect compasses, eight teams slowly make their way to their next location. The last two teams that remain are Philippines' Eric & Rona (#TARAEricRona) and Vietnam's Lisa & Nicole (#TARANicLisa). At the very last moment, Eric & Rona find the correct compass, leaving Lisa & Nicole with no right compass and eliminated from the race.
With no time to recover, the nine teams make their way to Museum Bahari for their first detour. Teams have to choose between 'Fix' and 'Freight'. In 'Fix', teams must make their way to Fatahilah Square where they have to fix and finish assembling a colorful bicycle. In 'Freight', teams head to Sunda Kelapa where they must help unload precious cargo from the hull of a traditional Pinisi (Indonesia trading vessel) onto a waiting pallet.
JK & Mike (#TARAJKMike), Anita & Tom (#TARATomAnita), Alphaeus & Brandon (#TARABrandonAlph) and Rach & Vicky (#TARAVickRach) choose 'Freight', while Rei & Keiji (#TARAReiKeiki), Will & Alex (#TARAAlexWill), Yvonne & Chloe (#TARAChloeYvonne), Eric & Rona, Parul & Maggie (#TARAMagParul), Treasuri & Louisa (#TARATrezLou) choose 'Fix'.
Teams that chose 'Fix' come to a realization that the challenge is not as easy as first thought. Tension is running high as they struggle to get it right. Teams that chose 'Freight' seem to have an easier time but require more energy. Under the burning sun and heavy cargo, Rach & Vicky become frustrated with each other and start arguing in the middle of the challenge, the first fight for the season.
Rach & Vicky are the last team to complete their 'Freight' challenge and Will & Alex and Rei & Keiji are the last teams to complete 'Fix'.
After completing their detour challenge, the teams receive route info and have to make their way to Kebun Raya Bogor (Bogor Botanical Gardens) to find their next clue in the hands of an Ondel Ondel (Giant Indonesian folk puppet). After enduring a massive traffic jam, Alphaeus & Brandon are the first to arrive and they have to find a matching Ondel Ondel before the puppet master gives them their next clue. As teams arrive at Kebun Raya Bogor, they find themselves getting lost in the sheer size of the garden.
After finding their matching puppets, teams receive a clue that tells them to hurry to the Presidential Palace where Allan Wu and Tara Basro are waiting at the first Pit Stop. The last team to arrive may be eliminated. Alphaeus and Brandon are the first to reach the Pit Stop and Allan Wu surprises them with a gift – the first team that wins the first leg of the race wins a pair of tickets to Bali, courtesy of Garuda Indonesia.
While Rei & Keiji are still stuck in traffic, Treasuri & Louisa effortlessly arrive in second place followed by JK & Mike in third. Eric & Rona, Will & Alex, Rach & Vicky and Parul & Maggie follow closely behind. Anita & Tom and Yvonne & Chloe are trailing behind and each team tries desperately to catch up. Anita & Tom beat the Malaysian beauty queens by a split second, securing eighth place putting Yvonne & Chloe at ninth place, and sealing Rei & Keiji's fate.
Rei & Keiji is the last team to arrive and they are eliminated from the race.
"It's very sad to disappoint everyone; we need a while to get over our pain." Rei and Keiji said.
Route Markers[]
The Race begins at the National Monument in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Teams must make their way to Sapta Pesona Building and search through 1,000 compasses for one of only 10 that displayed 210 degrees southwest. The team who fails to find a compass will be eliminated at the Starting Line.
The order when teams found their compass was as follows:
- Treasuri & Louisa
- JK & Mike
- Will & Alex
- Alphaeus & Brandon
- Anita & Tom
- Rei & Keiji
- Parul & Maggie
- Rach & Vicky
- Yvonne & Chloe
- Eric & Rona
Teams must take a taxi to Menara Syahbandar at Museum Bahari, where they would find their next clue.
Choice A: Fix
Teams must make their way to Fatahillah Square, where they must fix and assemble the tire of an Onthel bicycle. Once the judge is satisfied with their work, they would receive their next clue.
Eric & Rona, Parul & Maggie, Rei & Keiji, Treasuri & Louisa, Will & Alex, and Yvonne & Chloe chose this task.
Choice B: Freight
Teams must make their way to Sunda Kelapa, where they must use a sack to unload enough sand from a traditional Indonesian pinisi to fill four barrels on the dock to receive their next clue.
Teams must take a taxi to Kebun Raya Bogor in Bogor, West Java, and find an ondel-ondel to receive their next clue.
Teams must pair their male ondel-ondel with the matching female ondel-ondel identified by the pattern of its scarf at Taman Teijsmann within Kebun Raya Bogor to receive their next clue.
Teams must bring both their ondel-ondel to the Lotus Pond within Kebun Raya Bogor across Bogor Palace to check in.
For coming in first place, Alphaeus & Brandon won two round-trip tickets to Bali, provided by Garuda Indonesia.
Leaderboard[]
First Place • Eliminated • Last placer on a Non-Elimination Leg or continue racing on a No-Rest Leg • Season winner • Season 2nd place • Season 3rd place • > Used the Yield • < Recipient of the Yield• ⊂ Used the U-Turn • ⊃ Recipient of the U-Turn
Alphaeus & Brandon
School Friends |
Treasuri & Louisa
Best Friends |
JK & Mike
Radio DJs |
Eric & Rona
Married |
Will & Alex
Muscle Brothers |
Rach & Vicky
Travel Hosts |
Parul & Maggie
Beauty Queens |
Anita & Tom
Dating |
Yvonne & Chloe
Beauty Queens |
Rei & Keiji
Siblings |
Lisa & Nicole
Life Partners |
Trivia[]
- After not being aired in over five years, the five-year hiatus between this episode and the previous episode, "I'm Still in Shock", is the longest gap between those episodes airing.
- The episode title was said by Alex Chee.
Reception[]
- Priscilla at PrisChew (10/13/2016): "The Amazing Race Asia Season 5: Episode 1 Review"
- Oh dear, we're not off to a good start...
References[]
| The Amazing Race Asia 5 Episodes |
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"The Race Is On!" · "From Hero to Zero" · "The Value of Insurance" · "The Pain Does Not Exist" · "Taste Like Chicken" · "Made with Love" · "By Air, Land and Sea" · "Should Have Turned Left" · "No More Mr. Nice Guy" · "3 to 1 Teams" |