South Africa to the Final "RAT" Race

If you happen to be in a country where people know how to celebrate Chinese New Year, then I hope you're making the most of your time relaxing and catching up with family and relatives.  I've been having an amazing time back in Singapore, and it's kinda weird to realize that there's only one episode left of The Amazing Race Asia.  Now, there are only three final teams left in the hunt to be the winners.  I bet most people think that Marc and Rovilson are the favorites based on their overall performance during the race, but what do you think?  Do you think Adrian/Collin and Pam/Vanessa stand a chance to win?

Although it was quite a long flight to head all the way down from Budapest, racing in Capetown, South Africa, was certainly the highlight for many of us.  We stayed at this really cool and hip hotel that had an extreme sports theme and here's the view from the window by the elevator:

The interior design of the hotel was really edgy and trendy with its use of dark corridors and colored lights.

Of course, the design of each room was definitely "forward thinking,' especially since the shower was situated right next to the bed with see-through glass.  If you ever stay in a place like this, then be prepared to enjoy your roommate scrubbing down cuz there's NO place to hide!

Just when I thought I already had some great shots of Capetown down at the hotel, I was able to get some breathtaking shots up at Signal Hill.

Now, what would going to South Africa be if you didn't get to see some wild animals, right?  So we all jetted off to the Aquila Natural Reserve Park where I even had an opportunity to come up close and personal with a wild cheetah.  What a beautiful creature!

Even though I didn't get the opportunity to pet the elephants, I did have the chance to handle their dung which the contestants had to shovel.  Trust me...I'd prefer to deal with elephant dung any day of the week over dealing with human dung!

As the sun sets on the second season of TARA, I must confess that it's been even more enjoyable to watch all the teams race this second time around.  There's only one final episode left...

...and this hardworking Pit Stop mat will be rolled up one more time and then unrolled once more to announce the winners.  Having the chance to travel to South Africa and everywhere else we raced through was certainly a once-in-a-lifetime experience for all the teams.  Luckily, for me being the host, I can look forward to making it at least a "thrice-in-a-lifetime" experience with the third season looming in the horizon.

Make sure you tune into the season finale because you don't wanna miss which team proves once-and-for-all that they're the best when it'll matter most!  AXN has organized quite a few publicity events to commemorate this moment so look out for those pictures soon!

C y'all soon and Let the Final Leg of the Race Begin in the Year of the Rat!!