The Amazing Race Vietnam: Cuộc đua kỳ thú 2014 is the third season of The Amazing Race Vietnam, a Vietnamese reality competition show based on the American series The Amazing Race. It featured nine teams of two in a race around Vietnam for 300 million₫.
The program premiered on VTV6 and aired every Saturday and Sunday primetime (7:55 p.m. UTC+7) from 21 June to 31 August 2014. The host for this season is Huy Khánh.
Singer and Athlete Hương Giang and Criss were the winners of this season.
Production Development and filming
The season was filmed in early 2014.
Unique to this season, each leg aired with two-part episodes.
The final Detour featured musician Anh Bằng and Vietnam's Got Talent season 2 semifinalist Nguyễn Phương as judges.
Marketing The show was sponsored by Sting Energy Drink.
Cast
This season was another celebrity edition, but this time featuring many celebrities who were chosen to race on the show as well as non-celebrities. The cast was announced in May.
Huê "Mint" Nguyễn died on 13 March 2021 at the age of 39 due to cancer.
ContestantsAgeProfession/RelationshipHometownStatus 26Friends Da NangEliminated 1st(in Hanoi) 29 Hanoi 27 Singer Ho Chi Minh CityEliminated 2nd(in Dien Bien Phu, Dien Bien) 29 MC Hanoi 26Siblings in Spirit Đồng NaiEliminated 3rd(in Huế, Thừa Thiên Huế) 24 Hanoi 30Actor Ho Chi Minh CityEliminated 4th(in Ninh Phước, Ninh Thuận) 26 Biên Hòa, Đồng Nai 24 Singer Cần ThơEliminated 5th(in Sa Đéc, Đồng Tháp) 32 Sports Coach Ho Chi Minh City 32Married Nam Định, Nam ĐịnhEliminated 6th(in Incheon, South Korea) 39 Ho Chi Minh City 23 Model Bắc Giang, Bắc GiangThird Place 25 Designer Vancouver, Canada 29 Model HanoiSecond Place 24 Actor Thái Bình, Thái Bình 23 Singer HanoiWinners 32 Athlete Long An
Future appearances Hương Giang Nguyễn and Huy Phương "Criss" Lai, as well as Minh Long Nguyễn and Sơn Ngọc Minh (who compete as separate teams), later competed in the fifth season which aired in 2016. Hương Giang appeared on the sixth season as a clue giver during the third episode and served as the host during the seventh episode in 2019.
Results The following teams participated in the season, with their relationships at the time of filming. Note that this table is not necessarily reflective of all content broadcast on television due to inclusion or exclusion of some data. TeamPosition (by leg)Roadblocksperformed1234567891011Hương Giang & Criss2nd7th1st1st2nd2nd4th2nd3rd1st1stHương Giang 5, Criss 6Trang Trần & Hiếu Nguyễn5th4th4th4th3rd3rd2nd3rd2nd3rd2ndTrang Trần 5, Hiếu Nguyễn 6Trang Khiếu & An Đinh6th6th7th6th6th3rd4th4th2nd3rdTrang Khiếu 6, An Đinh 4Kiwi & Hoàng Dương8th5th5th7th1st1st1st1st1stMai Trang 4, Hoàng Dương 6Ngọc Minh & Mint1st3rd3rd5th5th,5th5th,Ngọc Minh 4, Mint 4Long Điền & Kim Dung3rd1st2nd2nd4th4th,Long Điền 4, Kim Dung 3Kim Thanh & Khải Anh 8th6th3rdKim Thanh 2, Khải Anh 3Miko & Hoàng Nam4th2nd,Miko 1, Hoàng Nam 2Minh Long & Sơn Việt7thMinh Long 2, Sơn Việt 0
Key A team placement means the team was eliminated. A indicates that the team decided to use the Express Pass on that leg. A indicates that the team won a Fast Forward. A team placement indicates that the team came in last on a non-elimination leg. An placement indicates that the team was "Marked for Elimination" and had to come in first on the next leg, otherwise they would be served a 30-minute penalty. An placement indicates that the team would not receive any money at the start of the next leg. An underlined leg number indicates that there was no mandatory rest period at the Pit Stop and all teams were ordered to continue racing. An underlined team placement indicates that the team came in last and was not eliminated. A indicates that the team chose to use the U-Turn; indicates the team who received it.
Notes
Kim Thanh & Khải Anh initially arrived 2nd, but were issued a 30-minute penalty for being "Marked for Elimination" and not coming in 1st. Six teams checked in during the penalty time, dropping Kim Thanh & Khải Anh to 8th. Miko Lan Trinh & Hoàng Nam did not complete the weight-guessing challenge and were issued a 1-hour penalty before receiving their next clue. Miko Lan Trinh & Hoàng Nam initially arrived in 7th, but they had lost their Detour clue and could not check in without issuing a 30-minute penalty. Trang Khiếu & An Đinh, who checked in after them in last place, had found their clue. They were given the option of returning the clue to Miko Lan Trinh & Hoàng Nam, but doing so would eliminate them. Trang Khiếu & An Đinh chose not to return the clue and settled for the 7th-place finish, resulting in Miko Lan Trinh & Hoàng Nam's elimination. Leg 4 was originally planned as an elimination leg (which would have resulted with Mai Trang & Hoàng Dương eliminated), but shortly afterwards they were informed to still be in the competition in a prior brief scenario and that they would keep on racing. Sơn Ngọc Minh & Mint used their Express Pass to bypass the Detour in Leg 5, however they still had to do one side of the Detour since Hương Giang & Criss U-Turned them before they got to the board. Sơn Ngọc Minh & Mint initially arrived 4th, but were issued a 15-minute penalty for not earning enough money during the hat-selling challenge. Long Điền & Kim Dung checked-in during the penalty time, dropping Sơn Ngọc Minh & Mint to 5th. Kim Thanh & Khải Anh were issued a 2-hour penalty at the marketplace for not completing the hat-selling challenge. Sơn Ngọc Minh & Mint were not able to climb one of the inflatable platforms and were issued a 15-minute penalty before getting their next clue. Trang Khiếu & An Đinh were not able to climb two of the platforms and issued a 30-minute penalty before getting their next clue. Criss, Long Điền and Mint were unable to complete the Roadblock; their teams were all issued 1-hour penalties at the Roadblock site. Sơn Ngọc Minh & Mint were issued a 30-minute penalty as they borrowed money from locals to pay for their final taxi ride of the day, which was prohibited by the rules. They elected to serve their penalty at the start of the next leg. Long Điền & Kim Dung were issued a 1-hour penalty at the desert for not completing the pot-balancing challenge. Kiwi Ngô Mai Trang & Đỗ Hoàng Dương and Trang Trần & Hiếu Nguyễn initially arrived 1st and 2nd respectively, but were each issued a 30-minute penalty for talking while inside of the Jeju Stone Museum. This did not affect either teams' placements. Hương Giang & Criss arrived in 3rd, but they had lost their leg's final clue. They were required to backtrack and retrieve the clue before they could check in. This did not affect their placement. Trang Khiếu & An Đinh left the Pit Start at Leg 9 by approximately an hour late because An Đinh had difficulties traveling internationally with her passport. This did not affect their departure placement since they were the last to depart. Hiếu Nguyễn was unable to complete the Roadblock on Leg 11 and he & Trang Trần were issued a 1-hour penalty at the Roadblock site. Trang Khiếu & An Đinh were unable to complete the high-wire challenge on Leg 11 and were issued a 2-hours-and-30-minute penalty at the site.
Prizes Leg 1 – The Express Pass (Thẻ Ưu Tiên) – an item that can be used to skip any one task of the team's choosing up until the 8th leg. Leg 5 – A vacation to the Alba Hot Springs, Huế. Leg 11 – 300,000,000₫
Race Summary
Leg 1 (Quảng Ninh)
Airdates: 21 & 22 June 2014 Hạ Long, Quảng Ninh Province, Vietnam (Tuần Châu Harbor) (Starting Line) Hạ Long (Bãi Cháy Bridge) Hạ Long (Muong Thanh Hotel) Yen Tu Mountain (Hoa Yen Pagoda) Yen Tu Mountain (Mot Mai Pagoda) Yen Tu Mountain (Trần Nhân Tông Buddha Statue ) Yen Tu Mountain (Copper Pagoda)
In this season's first Roadblock, one team member had to rappel off of the bridge to reach the bottom of a hanging rope, where they would grab two bottles of Sting. They would then get a clue instructing them to travel alone to Muong Thanh Hotel, where they had to search for their partner who was hidden somewhere on the 18th, 19th or 20th floor. Once reunited, they would receive their next clue.
This season's first Detour was a choice between Ăn (Eat) or Học (Learn). In Ăn, teams would have to properly cook three vegetarian meals: tofu, water spinach and prepared peanuts. In Học, teams had to memorize a spoken poem by Nguyên Hỏa, both the original version written in old Vietnamese, and the modern translated version. If they could recite both versions correctly, teams would get their next clue.
Additional tasks At Tuần Châu Harbor, team members had to take turns kayaking out into the water to find boats filled with balls. They had to find five balls that, together, contained the words Cuộc đua kỳ thú 2014 in order to get their next clue. However, each team member would only grab one ball at a time before they had to return and let their partner have a turn. At the Mot Mai Pagoda, team had to search for a large box filled with books, and had to transport this box to the Trần Nhân Tông Buddha Statue. They would deliver the box to a monk, who would ask them for "The Green Lotus Bud". Teams had to figure out that this was the name of one of the books in the box and present said book to him. In exchange, he would hand them their next clue. If teams could not figure out what The Green Lotus Bud was, they could continue to climb the mountain to the chairlift station (bringing the books with them), where an attendant would tell them the answer.
Leg 2 (Quảng Ninh → Hanoi)
Airdates: 28 & 29 June 2014 Hanoi (Ngọc Sơn Temple) (Pit Start) Hanoi (Gas Station at the Intersection of Hang Bun Street and Yen Phu Street) Hanoi (Near Cua Bac Street) Hanoi (Quán Thánh Temple) Hanoi (Bach Ma Temple ) Hanoi (Kim Liên Pagoda) Hanoi (Voi Phuc Temple ) Hanoi (Duong Lam Village ) Hanoi (Ta Hien Street) Hanoi (Imperial Citadel of Thăng Long)
In this leg's Roadblock, one team member would have to apply shaving cream to three balloons and then use a straight-edge razor to shave it off. If any of the balloons popped, teams had to serve a 15-minute penalty before trying again.
This leg's Detour was a choice between Trống (Drum) or Chè (Candy). In Trống, teams traveled to a nearby temple. Once there, teams would have to balance on a seesaw. One team member had to raise their partner up high enough to be able to strike a drum three times, making sure not to go too low themselves or they would pop the balloons that were attached to the underside. They then exchange all the flags they were holding to their partner on the other side, letting neither side of the seesaw touch the ground. In Chè, teams would have to make a traditional candy called Che Lam. If a judge was satisfied with their cooking, they would receive their next clue. Both Detours had only a maximum of two work stations.
Additional tasks Teams had to drive themselves from the Ngoc Son Temple to the gas station on motorcycles. There, they had to search for a marked person. After the Roadblock, teams would follow a series of hints as to where they had to go next. These hint would direct them to four temples around the city, making the north, south, east and west gates to the ancient city. At each temple, they had to search for a marked photograph depicting the next temple, which they would pick up. While on the grounds of any of these temples, team members could not communicate with one another. A person at the last temple (Voi Phuc) would give them their next clue if they had all four photographs. The clue at the Voi Phuc Temple would instruct teams to copy a traditional Dong Ho picture using traditional brushes. If they could copy the picture perfectly, they would get their next clue. At Duong Lam Village, teams needed to find the oldest house in the village to get their next clue.