The Amazing Race Asia 3
The Amazing Race Asia 3 is the third season of "The Amazing Race Asia", a reality television game show based on the American series "The Amazing Race". The third installment of the show features ten teams of two with a pre-existing relationship, in a race around Asia to win US$100,000. The season premiered on September 11, 2008 and consists of 11 episodes, two episodes fewer than the first and second seasons. The season finale aired on November 20, 2008. Friends Vince Chung and Sam Wu, representing Hong Kong, were the winners of this  season. Vince also became the first non-Asian by nationality to win "The Amazing Race Asia". Production. Development and filming. The third season of "The Amazing Race Asia" covered 21,600 kilometres in six countries. Route markers were coloured yellow and white in Vietnam to avoid confusion with the former flag of South Vietnam. This season introduced the U-Turn marker, while the Intersection was not included. This season, like the American version's Family Edition and the , was the first time "The Amazing Race Asia" traveled across one continent, Asia (previous seasons covered at least two continents). Unlike past seasons , this was the first season to not have the first leg as a non-elimination leg. This season also had the number of episodes decreased from 13 to 11. According to AXN, this season was dubbed as "the toughest Race ever" compared to previous seasons as both contestants and crew personnel experienced high fatigue during this season due to the faster pace and shorter break times. During filming, one production crew member was even hospitalized. Paula Taylor, one of the racers in Season 2, appeared as the local greeter in the first leg. Footage from the start of the season  was shown on the ninth episode of "The Amazing Race 16". Cast. Applications for the third season were due on March 3, 2008 (extended from the original deadline on February 25, 2008). Interviews for semi-finalists and finalists were held sometime around March or April 2008. Filming was expected to have taken place around the middle of 2008. This season's cast include cousins, and a father & son team. Like Season 2, this season featured a large number of local media personalities or their relatives. Natalie Glebova is the winner of Miss Universe 2005 and also the wife of Thai  tennis player Paradorn Srichaphan. Her teammate, Pailin, is the runner-up in 2006 Miss Thailand Universe and also contested in Miss Earth 2006. Tisha Silang is the ex-girlfriend of "Survivor Philippines"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s host, Paolo Bediones and was once Miss Philippines but had to forgo her crown due to her Canadian citizenship, while Ida, Niroo and Mai are famous actors in their respective homelands and Bernie is the host of "Project Runway Malaysia". Isaac & William are sports commentators and football agents for professional players in the Korean K-League. Vince Matthew Chung is a leading stand-up comedian in  Hong Kong, often performing and hosting at The TakeOut Comedy Club Hong Kong, and was a finalist in Hong Kong's first nationwide stand-up comedy competition. This season consists of three non-Asians. Natalie and Vince are Canadians (though Natalie was born in Russia; Vince has a Chinese ethnicity), and Geoff is from New Zealand. Additionally, Sam, who was originally from Singapore, is representing Hong Kong. Tisha is of Canadian nationality but of Filipino ethnicity; Henry and Bernie are of Australian nationality but of Chinese ethnicity. Kynt Cothron and Vyxsin Fiala's audition video was shown on the "Racers  Revealed" episode. Michael McKay, the executive producer of the show, confirmed that Kynt & Vyxsin of season 12 of the original American version of "The Amazing Race" did really submit an audition tape but did not made it because according to McKay "we felt it would be unfair to have a team that had already raced (and raced very well I might add) and also we take teams from Asia. But if we do an All Star version down the track you never know." Tania Khan died in late 2020 at the age of 48. Marketing. The third season of "The  Amazing Race Asia" had six official sponsors: Caltex, MASkargo, Nokia, Singha, Sony and Standard Chartered Bank. Broadcasting. A special episode known as "Racers Revealed" aired one week before the actual premiere, on September 4, 2008, and a special "Memories" episode aired after the season finale on November 27, 2008, similar to the second season. Awards. In 2009, the series was nominated for an International Emmy Award for Best Non-Scripted Entertainment, losing to the Dutch reality series "The Phone". 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 (Thailand). Airdate: September 11, 2008 This season's first Detour was a choice between Race or Rice. In Race, teams had to proceed to the Chiang Mai X-Centre and drive an off-road buggy over an track to receive their next clue. In Rice, teams had to work together to pound rice into paste and make two rice balls before receiving their next clue. Leg 2 (Thailand  → Vietnam). Airdate: September 18, 2008 In this season's first Roadblock, one team member had to cross a plantation and retrieve their next clue from a hanging backpack without being hit by snipers brandishing paintball guns, who would fire paintballs at the team member. If the team member was shot, they had to return to the starting point and perform the task again. This leg's Detour was a choice between Sampan and Some Walk. In Sampan, teams had to load a sampan with fruit and then row it across the river to a trader, who would give teams  their next clue. In Some Walk, teams had to gather twenty live chickens and then deliver then using a đòn gánh to a vendor in the land market to receive their next clue. Leg 3 (Vietnam). Airdate: September 25, 2008 In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to retrieve seven coins representing the seven emperors of the Nguyễn dynasty at Minh Mạng Tomb then bring them back to Khải Định Tomb, where they would find out that they had to place the coins in the correct order of the reign of the emperors to receive their next clue . Each table that had a coin at Minh Mạng Tomb also contained information about the reigns of the corresponding emperor, and racers could return to the tomb to obtain this information. This leg's Detour was a choice between Sticks and Stalks. In Sticks, teams had watch a silent demonstration and then make ten incense sticks to receive their next clue. In Stalks, teams had to thresh rice stalks into a farming machine and fill two baskets to receive their next clue from a farmer. Leg 4 (Vietnam → Taiwan). Airdate: October 2, 2008 This leg's Detour was a  choice between Shoot It or Shape It. In Shoot It, teams had to drive themselves to the Miniatures Museum of Taiwan and pick a Sony Cyber-shot camera to photograph a miniature model of an "Amazing Race" envelope hidden inside one of the dioramas. After the photo was printed, teams' next clue could be found behind their new photo. In Shape It, teams had to drive themselves to Raohe Street Night Market, where they had to recreate four shapes using a large tangram set to receive their next clue. In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to eat  an entire bowl of stinky tofu, a delicacy common in Taiwanese cuisine, to receive their next clue from a waiter. Leg 5 (Taiwan). Airdate: October 9, 2008 In this season's only Fast Forward, one team had to drive to an intersection, where there would find a clue box. The clue would then instruct each team member to get a permanent tattoo at Kevin's Tattoo to win the Fast Forward award. In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to find a souvenir, a small silver token that had the AXN logo on one side and "The Amazing  Race Asia" logo on the other side, hidden in a mine cart full of coal and exchange it for their next clue. This leg's Detour was a choice between Pick or Pail. In Pick, teams had to drive themselves to Wan Nian Building and retrieve three stuffed toys from inside from a claw machine to receive their next clue. In Pail, teams had to go to the Yuantong Temple, fill a bucket full of water, and carry it to the top of the mountain, where a monk would check to see if they had enough water. If they had  enough, teams would receive their next clue. Leg 6 (Taiwan → Hong Kong). Airdate: October 16, 2008 This leg's Detour was a choice between Get Fishy or Get Lucky. In Get Fishy, teams had to find a seafood store on Graham Street and clean, gut and scale 15 fish to the satisfaction of a fishmonger to receive their next clue. In Get Lucky, teams had to find a marked table on Mee Lun Street and bite open 300 fortune cookies in a jar until they found the one cookie containing a fortune that stated they could get their next  clue. In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to choose one of the provided handbags and search through the crowded market for the woman carrying the same handbag, who would give them their next clue. Leg 7 (Hong Kong → Macau). Airdate: October 23, 2008 In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to climb to the top of the mast of the Macau Tower to obtain their next clue and go down back to their partner before reading their next clue. However, due to lightning, not all of the racers who chose to perform the Roadblock  were allowed to climb the exterior spire as a precaution and were given their clue. This leg's Detour was a choice between Dance or Chance. In Dance, teams had to correctly perform a lion dance routine to the satisfaction of the dance troupe to receive their next clue. In Chance, teams had to don formal attire and play a game of blackjack in the casino of Hotel Royal Macau. Teams had to beat the dealer nine times (as denoted each letter given after a win that would form the word "COMPLETED") to receive their next clue. Leg 8 (Macau  → Hong Kong → India). Airdate: October 30, 2008 In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to perform the world's highest bungee jump from the top of the Macau Tower and fall to the ground to receive their next clue. The first team to complete the task would receive a helicopter ride from Macau to Hong Kong instead of the TurboJET ferry ride. This leg's Detour was a choice between Fish or Fill. In Fish, team members had to carry six marlins to a nearby restaurant to receive their next clue. In Fill, teams had to  recreate an intricate floor pattern using coloured rice, known as "Rangoli", to receive their next clue. Leg 9 (India). Airdate: November 6, 2008 In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to find a pheta with the word "Correct" inside it amongst ones worn by 50 men walking around the fort to receive their next clue. This leg's Detour was a choice between Push and Crush. In Push, teams had to go to Datta Shinde Pottery Shop, where they had to load a cart with 75 pots and push it one kilometre to Rajkumar Provision Stores in Mahatma  Phule Market with at least 70 intact pots remaining to receive next clue. In Crush, teams had to go to Agarwal Sweets, where they had to crush sugarcane sticks to make 40 glasses of sugarcane juice and sell them to earn at least 200 to receive their next clue. Leg 10 (India → Oman). Airdate: November 13, 2008 This leg's Detour was a choice between Carpet and Count It. In Carpet, teams had to walk to a carpet shop and find two matching carpets, using the images in a Sony Cyber-shot as a reference, to receive their next  clue from the shopkeeper. In Count It, teams had to walk to a shop and count the dried limes. Once each team gave their correct individual amount (1601, 1595, 1598, or 1577), the shop owner would hand them their next clue. In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to tyrolean traverse across Wadi Tanuf to retrieve their next clue on the other side before pulling themselves back across to reunite with their partner. Leg 11 (Oman → Thailand). Airdate: November 20, 2008 In this season's final Roadblock, one team member had to find one of seven keys  out of seventy buried in the sand, using a metal detector, that would unlock a clue box. This season's final Detour was a choice between Pull or Plunge. In Pull, teams had to kayak to Rang Yai pearl farm and find a marked shell by pulling from among 900 oyster lines. Then teams had to bring the marked shell back to the beach to exchange it for their next clue. In Plunge, teams had to snorkel and search for a giant clam shell containing a pearl, which they could exchange their next clue. The Amazing Race Asia 3 The