The Amazing Race 30 - Episode 6: All's Fair In Love & War

The 7 teams remaining traveled from Marseille Provence Airport to Prague Václav Havel Airport in Czech Republic. All teams used the Travelocity App to book their tickets to 1 of the 2 flights available.

The first to leave were: Team Yale, Team Extreme, Team OceanRescue & Team Firefighters.

The second flight which arrived an hour after the first flight consisted of: Team IndyCar, Team BigBrother & Team Well-Strung.

Once they arrived in Prague, they proceeded to Rudolfinum for the Double U-Turn. None of the teams in the first flight use this & they all went directly to their chosen Detour Task. However, the teams in the second flight - at least one of them - decided to use it since they were way behind the teams in the first flight.

Double U-Turn: Team BigBrother used this to Team Well-Strung.

Once all the teams received their Detour Clue, they realized that it was a blind Detour since there were no other information written on it except for the words - THIS or THAT.

In THIS, teams traveled to the Staropramen Brewery, where they had to properly re-stack a pallet of empty beer kegs, searching for the one keg that was full. They then had to tap the keg & properly pour a mug to the satisfaction of the brewmaster. Once approved, they finally had to navigate the streets of Prague transporting the keg on a hand truck to a boat on the riverbank called Fidelio, to receive their next clue from the captain.

Team Extreme doing the THIS Detour Task

In THAT, teams traveled to the astronomy hall at Charles University, where they had to listen to two lecturers, one debating that the Earth is round, & the other that it is flat. Without taking any notes, they had to pass an oral exam by answering eight questions correctly to receive their next clue.

Team Firefighters during the THAT Detour Challenge

One Detour Task required physical strength while the other was a memory challenge. Personally, I would choose THAT over THIS. Unfortunately for Team Well-Strung, they had to do both Detour Tasks since they were Double U-Turn by Team BigBrother.

Team Extreme & Team YALE chose THIS while Team OceanRescue & Team Firefighters chose THAT. Team OceanRescue made a quick decision to switch task after they realized that they couldn't handle the lectures and memorization. While Team Firefighters tried several times before they were able to answer all 8 questions correctly. All the teams who chose the THIS Detour Task had a hard time finding the Fidelio. Most of them got lost in the streets of Prague particularly Team OceanRescue & Team Yale.

On the other hand, Team IndyCar & Team BigBrother chose THIS while Team Well-Strung decided to go through the THAT challenge first which they finished after their second attempt. Then they hurried to the other detour task to catch up with the rest of the teams.

Once the teams were done with their chosen Detour Task, they all traveled to Andělská Lázeň Beer Spa to receive their next clue from the 3 men enjoying a beer bath. The clue stated that the teams should go to Stará Čistírna Odpadních Vod for their Roadblock Challenge.

If you're a fan of this reality show then that location will remind you of the infamous Roadblock Challenge back in Season 15.

In the Roadblock Challenge, one team member had to enter a room filled with a hundred ringing telephones & search for the eight that have a person on the other end of the line. A voice from each phone would give the team member one word of a Franz Kafka quote, "The meaning of life is that it stops." Team members had to memorize each word & were not allowed to write any of them down. After obtaining all eight words, the team member had to fill out a form with several biographical questions & attempt to unscramble the quote. If they are correct, the inspector would hand them their next clue.

Jen, Daniel, Evan, Jessica, Brittany, Alex & Trevor did the challenge. Jen was the first one to finish it. Jessica, sly as ever, didn't tell Brittany & Alex the right words she figured out until it was approved even though the 3 of them helped each other in this task. Alex & Brittany realized how sly Jessica was for giving them the wrong words & then telling them the right ones after she got hers approved. But karma was quick because the 2 other teams were able to passed them after the Roadblock Challenge.

Jessica, Brittany & Alex at the Roadblock Challenge

Once the team were all done, they all raced to the pitstop at Letenské Park.

FINAL RANKING:

1. Kristi & Jen (Team Extreme) won a trip to Perth, Australia

2. Eric & Daniel (Team Firefighters)

3. Henry & Evan (Team Yale)

4. Alex & Conor (Team IndyCar)

5. Lucas & Brittany (Team OceanRescue)

6. Cody & Jessica (Team BigBrother)

7. Trevor & Chris (Team Well-Strung) - ELIMINATED

THOUGHTS:

It was a very interesting leg. I suddenly missed the past season of the show. I remember this exact roadblock challenge a few years back. The phones ringing inside that room were very annoying. The appearance of the Double U-Turn was expected at some point. It was just sad that Team Well-Strung wasn't able to use their U-Turn because they were the last team to reach the place. It would have been nice if Team IndyCar decided to Double U-Turn either of the 2 last teams so it would be a race to the pitstop for Team BigBrother & Team Well-Strung. A lot of people always hate it when teams use their U-Turn but I don't. I accepted it as part of the race so anybody can be U-Turned. Since Team BigBrother was fighting to survive, of course, it's inevitable for them to use that Double U-Turn to give them cushions. Team Well-Strung did great though because they were able to do the THAT challenge faster but the THIS challenge was too much of a physical task & searching for Fidelio took most of the teams time.

Team Yale would have done well in the THAT task. They might even take the lead from Team Extreme. I guess the Blind Detour did help in some ways. The teams weren't able to decide well in choosing which Detour tasks to take.

Anyway, it was no surprise that Jessica would do something like that. Personally, I think Brittany should avoid trusting her completely because Team BigBrother is obviously determined to do everything to win. In my opinion, if you join this show, you should only rely to your partner & to yourself most of the time. If you want to help someone then do so but never trust other teams so easily. A lot of the the past racers failed because of this. The friendship that developed while racing means nothing when you need to survive another leg. Unless, you never really wanted to win & would willingly help another team to get the million dollars. Yes, that happened a long time ago. I think it was Season 2 or 3. The most heartbreaking race to the finish line. One member of a team decided she didn't want her team to win the money so she helped another team win it by running slow in the finish line. After all, I think she was smitten with one of the guys in the other team. Too bad. They didn't end up together. I think the guy wasn't even really in love with her. She should have used her brain & took the money. Ahh, one-sided love.

Anyway, I feel bad for Team Well-Strung. These guys are likable. I really wanted them to be in the final leg. Then again, I'm still rooting for Team Extreme & Team Yale. Surprisingly, Team Firefighters are doing well. They can also be considered as the dark horse in the race. My least favorite team this season is Team BigBrother. I know its their strategy to get ahead & that's fine. I just really don't like them. Cody is fine. Jessica is a bit...I just can't trust this girl.

If you want to watch The Amazing Race 30 here in Asia, then tune in at AXN every Thursday night.

Paramore & KARD Live in MANILA

If you're looking for something to do with a loved this Valentine's Day, try one of these concerts that will happen this month.

The Grammy Award-winning group Paramore is coming to Manila again on February 18 at the Mall of Asia Arena for their concert. The last time they were here was 2013. Now they're back as a trio to perform their songs from their 4 albums in the past plus their latest album 'After Laugh' for their fans.

Photo: PH Concerts

Ticket Prices: (You can avail thru smtickets.com)

P8000 VIP

P6890 Patron

P4876 Lower Box A

P2756 Lower Box B

P1855 Upper Box

P1325 General Admission

Brought to you by MMI Live

Photo: PH Concerts

Also, the Korean co-ed group KARD will have their first concert here in Manila on February 9, 2018 at the Kia Theatre.

The 2018 WILD KARD TOUR IN MANILA is said to be exciting & fun. It will be jam-packed with powerful performances from their latest album, interactive games, & a Q&A session, allowing KARD to get up close & personal with their fans in a much more intimate setting.

Ticket Prices:

VIP 1 – P6,890

VIP 2 – P4,880

Orchestra = P2,440

Tickets available at Ticketnet Outlets or online at CLICK HERE.

The Amazing Race 30 - Episode 5: The Claws Are Out

In this episode, the 8 teams were instructed to proceed in Les Baux-de-Provence for their Roadblock Challenge. Team IndyCar was the first team to leave the pitstop & they headed to Château des Baux. Unfortunately, the Château's time of operation was around 8:30 am. The boys couldn't help but feel disappointed for losing their lead. It was an equalizer.

Team IndyCar arriving first at the Château.

At 8:30 am, they read their clue for their Roadblock Challenge. One team member needed to correctly build a trebuchet (a large slingshot during medieval times) from supplied parts following an example. While assembling it, their respective partners were held in a stockade until they received their next clue.

Evan of Team Yale being held in a stockade while waiting for Henry
to assemble to trebuchet.

Lucas of Team OceanRescue took advantage of this challenge since his partner said he was good at building things & it paid off because he was the first person to finish the task. Conor of Team Indy & Tom of Team Chomp were the ones who had the hardest time assembling the trebuchet. It took them several tries to figure out what they did wrong. 

After receiving their clue, all teams went to Café de la Fontaine in Maussane-les-Alpilles to find a patron drinking a red wine for their next clue which was their Detour Task.

In their Detour, they had to choose between Full of Bull or Colorful.

In Full of Bull, teams needed to proceed in Arles Amphitheatre & search the entire area for satchels on artificial bulls scattered everywhere containing each of the colors of the French Flag: Blue, White & Red. They needed to collect 1 of each & exchange them to the Bullfighter for their next clue.

Team Extreme searching for the 3 colors in Full of Bull Detour Task

In Colorful, teams needed to travel to Pont Van Gogh to find a replica of one of Vincent van Gogh's paintings of the original Langlois Bridge at Arles, which was actually an elaborate sliding puzzle, requiring them to slide elements of the painting in a specific sequence in order to unlock the easel & retrieve their clue inside.

Team Chomp trying to figure out how to solve the puzzle
in Colorful Detour Task

Both tasks were fairly easy. One was more of a physical task while the other required puzzle solving skills. Team Chomp was the only one who decided to try the Colorful Detour Task but they weren't able to figure out how to do the task faster. They wasted so much time solving puzzles without realizing how to get their clue inside the easel. The other teams did good in the Full of Bull challenge. They ran around & searched the entire amphitheater for the colors they needed. I figured if Team Chomp decided to do this task as well then it would have helped them zoom past the other teams. Then again, they were the last team to leave the Roadblock Challenge so it didn't really matter which Detour Task to do. They just needed to do it faster than the others to survive this leg.

The pitstop for this leg was at Hotel Benvengudo in Les Baux-de-Provence. Team OceanRescue who widened their lead after Lucas finished the Roadblock ahead of the others was the first team to reach the mat. It was a cue for Lucas to finally propose to his long-time girlfriend. Everybody was happy for the newly-engaged couple.

The Newly-Engaged Couple - Team OceanRescue

FINAL RANKING:

1. Lucas & Brittany (Team OceanRescue) - won a trip to Bali, Indonesia

2. Kristi & Jen (Team Extreme)

3. Eric & Daniel (Team FireFighters)

4. Henry & Evan (Team Yale)

5. Alex & Conor (Team IndyCar)

6. Cody & Jessica (Team BigBrother)

7. Trevor & Chris (Team Well-Strung)

8. Joey & Tim (Team Chomp) - ELIMINATED

THOUGHTS:

The Roadblock Challenge was definitely hard for someone who isn't good with assembling things. So it was pretty understandable why some of them had a hard time with it particularly Conor & Tom. They both weren't paying attention to details that was why they ended up being the last 2 teams in the area. Good thing Team IndyCar was able to catch up with the others during their Detour Task.

I think this episode was fast paced. A team can get eliminated quickly if they made mistakes along the way. Team Chomp could have avoided elimination if they were able to figure out the Colorful Detour Task quickly. It took them several times to realize the mistake they were doing.

I still think Team Extreme is the team to beat this season. They're very consistent in ranking. Team BigBrother & Team IndyCar are both unpredictable since their rankings depend on how well they raced in that specific leg. Team Yale is still my dark horse. By the way, Evan's tooth was finally fixed during their pitstop in Leg 3. She even had a haircut.

Team OceanRescue did well in this episode. It was all due to Lucas finishing the Roadblock Challenge first. Their race for this leg was almost perfect. No mistakes or arguments along the way. I did notice that Lucas even asked for his earphone or something while driving to the pitstop. I was pretty sure he was proposing that time & he did. Brittany was over the moon. They celebrated their first pitstop win with a proposal.

CONGRATS to TEAM OCEANRESCUE!

If you want to watch The Amazing Race 30 here in Asia, catch it at AXN every Thursday night.

The Amazing Race 30 - Episode 4: Gotta Put Your Sole Into It

I don't know about you but I'm very addicted to this reality show since its first season. I've been watching it for years & I never get tired of it. I love the idea of racing around the world with someone you care about & doing simple to challenging tasks just to make it through each leg. It doesn't hurt that there's a $1,000,000 prize at the final pitstop. So it's a win-win for the competitors. You get to travel & see the world while trying your luck in winning trips, material things & the money.

So anyway, I'm not going to update from the very beginning since I've already missed out 3 episodes in total & additional 2 episodes after this. They've been doing 2-hour episodes lately so I can't keep up with the updates. I'll just start with the one I've just watched since it's still fresh from my memory.

The remaining teams now are:

1. Henry & Evan (Team Yale) who won a trip to Switzerland in Episode 3.

2. Alex & Conor (Team IndyCar)

3. Kristi & Jen (Team Extreme)

4. Trevor & Chris (Team Well-Strung)

5. Cody & Jessica (Team BigBrother)

6. Joey & Tim (Team Chomp)

7. Eric & Daniel (Team Firefighters)

8. Lucas & Brittany (Team OceanRescue)

9. Cedric & Shawn (Team Slam Dunk) - saved by a non-elimination leg

These 9 remaining teams traveled from Tangier, Morocco to Nice, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France for leg 4. All teams directly went to Sailing School Water Company De Saint-Tropez for their Roadblock Challenge. Team Slam Dunk, on the other hand, needed to do the Speed Bump Challenge first before doing their Roadblock Challenge as a penalty for arriving last in Episode 3.

For their Speed Bump, Team Slam Dunk stacked a set of 15 Optimist dinghies in numeral order. This was a fairly easy task & they didn't have any problem carrying the dinghies since both of them are physically strong. They were done just in time to catch up with the rest of the pack.

For the Roadblock Challenge, one member of each team needed to operate a much smaller wind-powered optimist dinghy & learn how to sail without proper instruction. They navigated their boats to a set of 2 buoys, far from the shore & from each other to retrieve their next clues. Both were needed before returning to their partner to read it together.

Joey of Team Chomp trying to learn how to sail

I would say this was probably one of the hardest tasks I've seen in the show. It was challenging enough to stay afloat but it got even harder because no help was offered in learning how to sail. Each team member figured it out by themselves. It took some of them a long time to learn it. Evan of Team Yale had a chipped tooth after completing the task. It was accidentally hit as she was learning how to move the sail around. Cedric of Team Slam Dunk capsized several times since the boat was too small for him. Even the younger men who performed the task like Alex of Team IndyCar had a hard time figuring it out at first.

Kristi of Team Extreme was the first to do the Roadbloack & was also the first one to complete it. Quite a feat for this team. She outperformed the men who did the challenge. 

After finishing the task, they all proceeded to their Detour Task - Bread or Tread.

In Bread, teams made their way to La Tarte Tropézienne to meet the baker that will teach them how to make a baguette. After that, the teams needed to make 50 baguettes from a 30 lbs of dough. They needed to cut it & shape it according to the baker's standards to receive their next clue.

Team BigBrother making baguettes in Tread Detour Task

In Tread, teams made their way to Sandales Tropéziennes to make sandals. Each of them needed to make a pair of Tropézienne Sandals to receive their next clue.

Team Chomp learning how to make sandals for their Tread Detour Task

Both tasks needed patience & attention to detail. Most teams did well in their chosen task.

Their next stop was a Head-To-Head Challenge in Place des Lices. Teams needed to play a game called pétanque. Each team member rolled 3 boules alternately to try get it close to a smaller ball in the field called Jack. The closest one to the Jack will win & could check-in at the Pit Stop immediately while the last team will be eliminated.

I'm not really sure if I'm liking how they placed the Head-To-Head Challenge almost at the end of the leg. It's too near the PitStop. The last team needed a lot of luck to beat out the other team ahead of them in one try just so they can run ahead to the mat. It's making it predictable. It would be best if they place the Head-to-Head Challenge between the Detour & Roadblock Challenge. I think it might drastically change the rankings even more. Or maybe put somewhere they would never expect, a route marker at a gasoline station or even in an open field just before they head out to do their other challenges. It will be less predictable & it will give the last team a slight chance to not be eliminated for sure.

Team BigBrother vs Team Extreme in Head-To-Head Challenge

Head-To-Head Face Off:

Team Extreme vs Team IndyCar

Team Extreme vs Team BigBrother

Team Extreme vs Team Well-Strung

Team Well-Strung vs Team Chomp

Team Well-Strung vs Team OceanRescue

Team OceanRescue vs Team Yale

Team OceanRescue vs Team Firefighters

Team OceanRescue vs Team Slam Dunk

In this alone, you can tell who had the hardest time in Head-To-Head Challenge & who were the teams bound for elimination. Team Slam Dunk was an obvious choice since they were the last one to arrive in the venue which meant that they needed to beat Team OceanRescue in their first try to survive.

FINAL RANKING:

1. Alex & Conor (Team IndyCar) - won $5,000 each

2. Cody & Jessica (Team BigBrother)

3. Kristi & Jen (Team Extreme)

4. Joey & Tim (Team Chomp)

5. Trevor & Chris (Team Well-Strung)

6. Henry & Evan (Team Yale)

7. Eric & Daniel (Team FireFighters)

8. Lucas & Brittany (Team OceanRescue)

9. Cedric & Shawn (Team Slam Dunk) - ELIMINATED

The Roadblock Challenge was fun to watch because they all looked like chickens with their heads cut off. They had no clue how to handle the sail. It looked easy but difficult. I felt bad for Team Slam Dunk. Their Speed Bump was easy but the Roadblock was difficult considering Cedric's size. It took him a while. Alex of Team IndyCar didn't read the clue well. He took off after getting the 1st clue without realizing that he needed 2 of them. He had to go back & sail again. Evan of Team Yale had an accident resulting to a chipped tooth but she finished the task which was a good thing. It showed how competitive they were as a team.

I like Team Well-Strung, Team Extreme & Team Yale. So far, Team Extreme is the team to beat this season. Team Yale is the dark horse. Team IndyCar & Team BigBrother are good too but it depends on whether they're having a good race. Team Well-Strung are just fun to watch. Chris is definitely good. Trevor was bad at that Head-To-Head game. I still can't tell though who could win. The time difference were pretty close. Anyone can still take the lead.

If you want to watch the Amazing Race 30 in Asia, it's at AXN channel every Thursday night.

Philippine Passport Appointment for DFA-Aseana Starting February 10

Photo: Newsbytes.PH

Good news to those who want to apply or renew their passport, DFA-Aseana is opening their slots every Saturday from the month of February to June.

I already checked their website & there are no available weekday slots anymore for February to June of this year. But thankfully, I was lucky enough to secure an appointment for my passport renewal by June in DFA-Megamall last Friday. When I learned about DFA-Aseana opening their Saturday slots starting this week again, I was contemplating on cancelling my confirmed appointment in Megamall so I can secure the Saturday schedule for Aseana, just for the sole reason that it's more convenient for me to travel there since it's closer to where I'm staying. I can avoid the long drive & the hassle of EDSA traffic. Then again, I'm worried that if I cancel my confirmed appointment, it will still not be an assurance that I can secure an appointment again after that. I know that many people are still waiting to secure passport appointments this year. So maybe I might stick to what I already have.

But for those who weren't able to secure a slot last January, be ready & always check their website before February 10. DFA-Aseana will open their Saturday slots from February-June of this year. Make sure to grab the opportunity once you see one (it will be open anytime this week) in their website - CLICK HERE to set up your Saturday appointment.

There will be strictly no walk-in applicants. Courtesy lane facilities will also not be available during Saturday slots. The passport application fee for Saturday will be a bit higher compared to the weekday schedules. It will set you back at around P1,200.

Here is the public advisory they posted in their social media account:

Photo: DFA Facebook Account

For more information, you can visit DFA website from the link I posted above.

Secure an appointment as soon as possible. It will take you 15-minutes to complete the booking. Make sure to wait for their email for further instruction so you can receive a confirmation for your scheduled visit.

Why I Blog?

Photo: Mashable

I was once asked about this. There really is no special reason why I blog other than the fact that I just need an outlet to express myself. This platform gives me that opportunity. I'm not a professional writer but I love reading other bloggers thoughts & experiences. In return, it makes me want to share my own. It gives me courage to share information or voice out my opinion regarding certain things. And no, I'm not earning anything from this. This is just a hobby; something that I enjoy doing from time to time.

I've been blogging since 2004 during the time when Friendster was still a well-known social media website. After that, I transferred my blog to different blogging platforms like Tabulas, Multiply, Tumblr & Wordpress but Blogger will always be my favorite. My very first blog here was posted around 2007, if I'm not mistaken. But due to my fickle-mindedness, I ended up deleting every blog I made for the past 10 years. And now, here I am again, starting anew.

So why do I keep blogging again & again?

Well, blogging makes me happy especially when a post of mine can help others or I'm able to help someone with the information I share. I can still remember the thank-you messages I received in the past few years from strangers who found my blog helpful in some ways. I also remember the feeling of meeting like-minded friends online. Also, blogging de-stresses me from my mental chaotic rumblings. It gives me a venue to express myself. It also helps me become a better writer.

I'm the type of person who keeps a journal since high school. I like to write my thoughts but I was always hesitant of sharing it. With the advancement of technology, blogging is a new way to express your thoughts. You can share it with the world & can still be anonymous, if preferred. It's great. But like all great things, all bloggers also have to learn how to be responsible with the things they post or share. And if you try to blog, you always have to keep that in mind.

Also, there are so many things a person can get when blogging - may it by monetary means if you prefer to blog professionally, an additional knowledge, a new friend from the interactions you've had, or a new skill/idea that you learned from someone else's blog posts. It all just depends on how you want your blogging life to be - personal or business.

The keyword is passion. 

If you want to blog for a living, be passionate enough to do it. If you just want to blog to express your views or as an outlet for your bottled emotions, regardless if you don't have many readers or followers, be passionate about it. Because you never know, someone might be able to read your post that could relate to your views, help them with the information you share, or make them feel good overall.

Blogging is both fulfilling & rewarding if you know how to do it right.

P.S.

For those who want to try, there are so many blogging platforms available out there. Find your favorite site, customize it & start blogging.