Episode 3 recap - Sokcho to Phnom Penh
The dynamic of Race Across the World is always a balance between racing, working, sightseeing and budgeting. Take a strong lead, or focus on keeping your budget healthy so you can jump ahead later? Risk a place to sightsee or miss the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see something only a few hours out of the way?
This debate always comes to a head in elimination week. The final team can’t continue so you don’t want to be last, but front runners often want to work to boost the budget, while lower teams want to push to secure their position to continue.
Even though two teams were over a day behind entering this leg, all the teams were clearly feeling the stress and there seemed to be much more disagreement during their route to Cambodia.
Eugenie and Isabel are probably the least harmonious team in general, with frequent differences of ideas between mother and daughter. Despite their problems they quickly agreed to head to Ninh Binh and do some work washing motorbikes. We finally got a look where the budgets where from the end of the last episode and while they’ve been overspending others, it seems last week Betty and James really splashed the cash, but neither team seems in a good position:
Betty and James’s route met up with the ladies quite a bit on this leg as they travelled from the rainy Da Nang across the border to Banlung via bus. The meeting delighted James, happy to have removed their 18 hour gap, while the less competitive Betty just seemed delighted to see them again!
Their attitude difference also led to friction when James tried to trick Eugenie off the bus while Betty clearly struggled with if she would go that far to ‘win’. I suspect this won’t be the last time James’s ultra-competitive nature competes against Betty’s spirit of fair play…
Alfie and Owen were also clashing at first, arguing over the £20 extra for sleeping train tickets to Da Nang , while (unknowingly) actually spending more money and time then the buses Betty & James and Stephen & Viv later took.
We got a lot more insight into Alfie this episode as he lit a lantern in memory of his Mum, and I think the lads may have a deeper bond than sometimes comes across on screen.
While starting with the faster bus Stephen and Viv changed to train from Da Nang to Ho Chi Minh City, taking 30 hours as they also discovered the slow trains of Vietnam. Slow travel felt somewhat apt for the couple though as after their 30 hour train trip they seemed to stop in a mud bath, apparently forgetting there was a race on!
Also taking their time were Sharon and Brydie who took a train to Ho Chi Minh City, then stopped to work at a floating market. Their team never really seemed to have the drive to win this race, and while they took quite a direct route it wasn’t enough to overcome their late start, and sadly (if not unexpectedly) they were to be eliminated before reaching the checkpoint.
The final footrace in Phnom Penh featured a Tuk Tuk across the Japanese bridge - a likely unwelcome extra expense for the two later teams who’d already used taxis - especially Betty and James who’d just taken a expensive cab from Banlung after getting stuck in a village by heavy rain.
The end results gave Alfie and Owen first place, with Eugenie and Isabel sliding slightly to a close(ish) second.
While the boys finally got their wanted first spot, Betty & James and Stepehn & Viv both made more impressive gains as is a bit more clear looking at the position chart:
Of course this ignores the budget situation, where I think Betty and James might have some real concerns going forwards when we find out what their remaining budgets are next week.
Think you can guess who will be first for checkpoint 4? Make your prediction now!
