The Amazing Race Asia 4
The Amazing Race Asia 4 is the fourth season of "The Amazing Race Asia", a reality television game show based on the American series "The Amazing Race". The fourth installment of the show features several teams of two, each with a pre-existing relationship, in a race around Asia and the Pacific Rim. Production for this installment was delayed in 2009. It is also the first "Amazing Race" series to be filmed and broadcast in high-definition. The season premiered on 23 September 2010 and the finale aired on 9 December 2010. Filipino friends Richard  Hardin and Richard Herrera were the winners of this season. Production. Development and filming. The fourth season of "The Amazing Race Asia" was the first "Amazing Race" season to be broadcast in high-definition. Besides the switch to high-definition, updated on-screen graphics (similar in appearance to those introduced in season 14 of the American version) and music, were introduced. The opening intro was also updated with a new title card and tuneup in the music. Of note is the addition of the use of split-screens. Filming took place in June 2010, with teams spotted at Invercargill Airport  on 20 June 2010. According to AXN, this season was dubbed as "Ride of a Lifetime". Allan noted that this season will travel to exotic locations and feature new challenges. This season features a first-time visit to Sri Lanka, as well as visits to far-flung areas including Invercargill, New Zealand and Legazpi, Albay, Philippines. Indonesia, a previously visited country that had not been visited by original American edition at the time until the nineteenth season one year later, was also visited this season. Leg 5 was said to be the most expensive production to date. It featured teams  riding numerous forms of transportation: airplanes, bus, passenger jeepney, carrier jeep, jet ski, and an all-terrain vehicle. Leg 7 once again featured a double-length leg after not featuring one from the previous season. It featured two Detours and Roadblocks each, and a Virtual Pit Stop where teams were informed on their placements and that the leg was still ongoing before handing over their next clue. As such for superlegs in the previous installments, teams are not awarded a prize for coming first at the Virtual Pit Stop. This is the first season in the Asian franchise to start  and end in two different countries, starting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and ending in Singapore, albeit having close proximity of the two locations. In some foreign editions, starting and ending locations are in different countries (such as , Israel, and Latin America), but not in the original American edition, which starts and ends in the same country. Lani Pillinger was absent in the Finish Line due to a broken collar bone. Cast. Applications ended 31 March 2010, after a short extension due to popular demand. Semi-finalist and finalist interviews were held between March and April. Season 4's cast included  the show's first father-daughter team, as well as martial arts experts, tattooists, social workers, and musicians. Like in previous Asian editions, this season features a large number of media personalities or their relatives. Wendy was a finalist in Miss Hong Kong 2006, Nadine was Miss Indonesia Earth 2009, while Natasha was Miss South Jakarta 2007. Dimple is a Hindi soap actress who starred in the serial "Aathvaan Vachan", while her friend Sunaina is an Indian TV actress, who starred in "Dill Mill Gayye", as well as a movie actress who starred in the Hindi movie "Kyun! Ho Gaya  Na...". Manas finished runner-up as a contestant on the Indian reality-dating show "Rakhi Ka Swayamwar", similar in format to "The Bachelorette" of the American series. Jess & Lani, as well as Richard Herrera, have appeared in numerous media and print advertisements and commercials in the Philippines. Richard Hardin is a former pro-basketball player in the Philippine Basketball Association. Claire is a prominent bar musician who plays at numerous gigs around Singapore, while Michelle was a reality TV contestant on the Singaporean series "S Factor". At the ages of 21 and 22 respectively, Claire & Michelle also form the youngest  team in "Amazing Race Asia" history. This season featured five non-Asians, Ivan, who is from Hungary and raced with his Malaysian wife Hilda, Jacinta "Jess" James & Lani Pillinger are from Australia (though Lani is of Filipino ethnicity) and Richard (Hardin) & Richard (Herrera) are from the United States who are first generation Filipino Americans but raised in Columbus, Ohio. This was the first time that Thailand was not represented this season. Marketing. The fourth season of "The Amazing Race Asia" had three official sponsors: Axiata, Caltex, and Sony. The official hotel partner was Hilton, and the series was supported by  Tourism Malaysia and Mix FM. Broadcasting. The identities of the contestants were revealed on 2 September 2010. A week before the premiere of "Racers Revealed", the episode was released on the show's official website. The first episode also premiered on the show's official website on 16 September 2010, one week before the season debut. A special recap episode was aired on 2 December 2010, a week before the season finale. Results. The following teams participated in the season, with their relationships at the time of filming. Placements are listed in finishing order: Episode title quotes. Episode titles are  often taken from quotes made by the racers. Prizes. Individual prizes were awarded to the first team to complete a leg Race summary. Leg 1 (Malaysia). Airdate: 23 September 2010 In this season's first Roadblock, one team member had to ascend the stairs at the Batu Caves complex inhabited by monkeys while carrying an offering of fruit and counting the number of steps. Once at the top, they had to give their offering to a Hindu priest and provide the correct number of steps (272) to receive their next clue. This season's first Detour was a choice between  Flags or Rags. In Flags, teams had to find five flags hidden around the ship using ship lingo to receive their next clue. In Rags, one team member had to lower themselves down to clean a window on the ship, while the other had to search for and take a photo of their partner to receive their next clue. Leg 2 (Malaysia). Airdate: 30 September 2010 In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to guide a ring through an underwater rope maze whilst using diving equipment to receive their next clue. There was a time limit to complete  the task, and if racers were unable to complete within the time limit, they would incur a 4-hour penalty. This leg's Detour was a choice between Rapid Water or Rapid Fire. In Rapid Water, teams had to sail a bamboo raft down river rapids and across the river to retrieve their next clue. In Rapid Fire, both teammates had to shoot Malaysian slingshots at two targets to receive their next clue. Leg 3 (Malaysia → Sri Lanka). Airdate: 7 October 2010 This leg's Detour was a choice between Count or Carry. In Count, teams had to count  fish and give the correct amount of 1,100 fish to receive their next clue. In Carry, teams had to carry 12 blocks of ice to a market vendor across the fish market to receive their next clue. In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to use a professional sewing machine to properly sew fabric cuttings into a shirt to receive their next clue. Leg 4 (Sri Lanka). Airdate: 14 October 2010 In this season's only Fast Forward, one team had to proceed to the Galle Bus Station, where they would discover they had to have their heads  shaved at a nearby street barber. Once completed, the team would receive the Fast Forward award and a Hilton Duck, which they had to bring to the Pit Stop, and would be taken in a marked taxi to the Pit Stop. In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to find out the year when Sri Lanka became a sovereign state and changed its name from Ceylon to its present name (1972). The team member had to use this year as a combination (1972 → 1-9-7-2) to unlock a treasure chest, containing their next clue, located  along a beach outside the Galle Lighthouse. This leg's Detour was a choice between Coconut Course or Language Course. In Coconut Course, both team members had climb up a laddered coconut tree and traverse on a hanging rope between two coconut trees to retrieve a coconut, which they had to give to the chieftain to get their next clue. In Language Course, teams had to go to a school to learn ten Sinhalese words from a student and then correctly recite them to a teacher to receive their next clue. Leg 5 (Sri Lanka → Philippines). Airdate: 21 October  2010 This leg's Detour was a choice between Jig or Pig. In Jig, teams had to don costumes and perform a traditional Ibalong dance to the satisfaction of a panel of two judges to receive their next clue. In Pig, teams would compete in a game of catch the oily pig with each team member having to catch two pigs to receive their next clue. In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to kayak along a flagged fish farm and search among hundreds of "Amazing Race" envelopes one of ten envelopes marked "Correct!", which contained their next  clue. Leg 6 (Philippines → New Zealand). Airdate: 28 October 2010 This leg's Detour at Nevis Highwire Platform was a choice between Plunge or Swing. Plunge was a Switchback of a Roadblock in Season 1. In Plunge, each team member had to bungee jump from a height of above the Nevis River to receive their next clue. In Swing, both team members would be seated side by side and swing from a platform above the Nevis Canyon to receive their next clue. In this leg's Roadblock, teams traveled to Coronet Peak, where one team member had to search  for their next clue buried in the snow hill using an avalanche rescue transceiver. Leg 7 (New Zealand → Australia). Airdate: 4 November 2010 This leg's Detour was a choice between Pen or Pinot. In Pen, teams had to separate three marked sheep from a flock to another pen to receive their next clue. In Pinot, teams had to carry and fill a wine barrel with wine to receive their next clue. In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to perform a flying trapeze maneuver known as a "catch" at Circus Art School to receive their next  clue. Airdate: 11 November 2010 In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to drive a Subaru Impreza WRX one lap around a rally circuit within 102 seconds to receive their next clue. This leg's Detour was a choice between Bush Chucker or Bush Hunter. Before performing either Detour option, team members had to paint each other's faces much like Aboriginal Australians. In Bush Chucker, teams had to throw a boomerang and have it land within a marked circular area. In Bush Hunter, teams had to throw a hunting spear into a hay bale. After completing either  Detour, one team member had to eat a live witchetty grub, an Aboriginal delicacy, before receiving their next clue. Leg 8 (Australia → Indonesia). Airdate: 18 November 2010 This leg's Detour was a choice between Above or Beyond. In Above, teams travelled to Mandalika Market and had to carry a basket of vegetables above their heads, without their hands touching the basket, a distance of to receive their next clue. In Beyond, teams had to search Kuburan Cina to locate the grave of Fam Sam Moy to find their next clue. In this leg's Roadblock, teams had to  travel by outrigger to Blue Marlin Dive on Gili Trawangan, where one team member had to learn to scuba dive before diving into Halik Reef to retrieve a briefcase. Then, both team members had to return to Gili Trawangan, ride a local horse carriage called a "cidomo" to Coral Beach, count the money in the briefcase (Rp 3,804,000), and use this number as the combination to retrieve the next clue from their Sony VAIO laptop. If teams did not enter the correct combination within three attempts, they had to wait for 10 minutes before they could enter another combination. Leg  9 (Indonesia → South Korea). Airdate: 25 November 2010 This leg's Detour was a choice between Bow N' Arrow or Rock N' Roll. In Bow N' Arrow, they had to choose another team's photograph as target and hit the target three times with a traditional arrow to receive their next clue. In Rock N' Roll, teams had to build a ceremonial pagoda to a certain height using rocks to receive their next clue. In this leg's Roadblock, teams had to drive to Daereungwon Tomb Complex, where one team member had to walk through three rows of gates , only one of which in each row was correct, to receive their next clue. If the team member chose an incorrect gate, the team member would be blocked by warriors. Each team member would be given three attempts to correctly decode the warrior's code or else they had to go back to the starting point and start again. Leg 10 (South Korea → Singapore). Airdate: 9 December 2010 This season's final Detour was a choice between Stay Up or Add Up. In Stay Up, teams had to travel to Wave House and ride a wave for an accumulated  time of two minutes to receive their next clue. In Add Up, teams had to travel to the G-Max Reverse Bungy, where they had to add up three numbers called out by the host and get the correct sum to receive their next clue. In this season's final Roadblock, one team member had to walk a tightrope from Tower 1 to Tower 2 of the Marina Bay Sands to retrieve their clue before walking back to Tower 1.