The Amazing Race Asia season 5 kicks off in the bustling city of Jakarta, Indonesia 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), Tom & Anita (#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 OndelOndel (Giant Indonesian folk puppet). After enduring a massive traffic jam, Alphaeus & Brandon are the first to arrive and they have to find a matching OndelOndel 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.
In next exciting episode of The Amazing Race Asia season 5, teams race through forests and a tea plantation in West Bandung. JK & Mike encounter difficulties at the detour that challenge their partnership. The Amazing Race Asia airs every Thursday at 9:00 pm on AXN.
For an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the Race, check out http://www.AXN-Asia.com/TARA or join the conversation on Facebook at TheAmazingRaceAsia / #AXNTARA. The Amazing Race Asia Season 5 is supported by presenting sponsor Wonderful Indonesia, and partners Garuda Indonesia, Grab and Great Eastern.
AXN is seen on Cable Link Channel 38, Cignal Digital TV Channel 61, Global Destiny Cable Channel 61, Dream Channel 20, GSat Channel 51, and SKYCable Channel 49.