The Amazing Race 38, Episode 9

Season 38 Episode 9 (Wednesday, November 19th, 2025) Info: “Phil sends the team off to race through Athens, Greece. The live Double U-Turn vote returns.”

In this ninth episode of The Amazing Race Season 38 (U.S. Edition), all teams departed at different times but flew on the same airplane — therefore starting this leg of the race together. Teams left ROMANIA 🇷🇴 and arrived in Athens, GREECE 🇬🇷 and quickly proceeded to Pnyx (Pnyka) Hill near the National Observatory, Parthenon, and Acropolis. This area of ancient Greek civilization 🏺 is the birthplace of democratic voting. The Amazing Race chose this setting to conduct a Double U-Turn Vote. Each team voted two teams to slow down, requiring them to complete both Detour tasks 🚧. For coming in last place in the previous episode (↗), Adam and Joseph were penalized with one U-Turn Vote. This turned out to be a trivial disadvantage for the team since the most votes were against Eric/Tucker (4 votes), Jag/Jas (3 votes), and Kyland/Taylor (3 votes). The teams of Adam/Joseph, Chelsie/Jack, and Izzy/Paige only received one vote each. Here is a team-by-team vote tally in sequential order:

        → Adam and Joseph voted against Chelsie/Jack and Eric/Tucker.
        → Eric and Tucker voted against Jag/Jas and Kyland/Taylor.
        → Chelsie and Jack voted also against Jag/Jas and Kyland/Taylor.
        → Jag and Jas voted against Eric/Tucker and Kyland/Taylor.
        → Izzy and Paige voted against Eric/Tucker and Jag/Jas.
        → Kyland and Taylor voted against Izzy/Paige and Eric/Tucker.

While there were supposed to be two teams having to complete both Detours, Jag/Jas and Kyland/Taylor both tied in votes so a tiebreaker vote was held. Just like in the first round of voting, both teams received three votes. Therefore, Eric/Tucker, Jag/Jas, and Kyland/Taylor were required to complete both Detour challenges: “Music in the Air” 🎶 and “Olives Everywhere”. In “Music in the Air,” team members chose to carry or took turns carrying a Greek laterna piano 🎹 on her or his back to a nearby town square. They performed the musical instrument and caught everyone’s attention with various shenanigans (and begging) in hopes of earning at least 10 Euros 💶 from nearby pedestrians. Jag and Jas earned €12.20 relatively quickly, Eric and Tucker earned €18.40, Kyland and Taylor earned €11.10, and Adam and Joseph earned €13.03. For the “Olives Everywhere” Detour task, teams tasted, visually identified, and memorized 10 varieties of olives grown throughout Greece. They then quizzed their newfound olive knowledge by going to a different table somewhat close by to match 10 bowls of olives with their variety name.

Visiting another hill in Greece, teams went to a place called Hill of the Muses to roll a giant ball on it. Teams were then tasked with memorizing the 24 lowercase Greek letters, and they recited them as an elderly gentleman in ancient Greek garb pointed to each letter in random order. If I was a contestant on The Amazing Race, I would have loved to complete this task because these letters are used for designating stars in almost all the constellations in the night sky! I created the Amazing Astronomy Blog (↗) to share my passion for 🔭 stargazing and learning about the cosmos 🌌. Visitors accessing the Amazing Astronomy Blog may notice lowercase Greek letter symbols (α, β, γ, δ, ε, ζ, η, θ, etc.) within constellation maps and various posts.

Now back to recapping this episode! Jag memorized the letters in alphabetical order but did not realize the elder sage was going to point to them in random order. Nevertheless, he completed this task in first place. Meanwhile, Tucker struggled at this task despite usually finishing something in first or second place. Jag and Jas arrived at the Kotzia Square Pit Stop first and met Phil — and a lady dressed as Athena. Phil gave Jag and Jas a trip to CAMBODIA 🇰🇭 including the following destinations and activities: the world-famous Angkor Wat temple, the city of Siem Reap, ATV adventures, a Cambodian culinary tour, and Ta Prohm temple. Phil noted that Jag and Jas is the first team ever to have arrived first at the Pit Stop 🏁 after being U-Turned! Chelsie and Jack arrived at the mat in second place, followed by Adam and Joseph in third, Izzy and Paige in fourth, and Kyland and Taylor in fifth. Despite being a competent team and winning in four episodes in a row, Eric and Tucker arrived last at the Pit Stop and ended their Amazing Race journey in this episode.

Independence Day in Cambodia

People all across CAMBODIA recently celebrated their country's Independence Day on Monday, November 9th. Cambodia achieved independence from France in 1953. Happy belated Independence Day!

Cambodia Exports

The following items are major exports of CAMBODIA: clothing and textiles, footwear, fish, gemstones, iron ore, petroleum (at an increasing rate compared to previous years), rice, rubber, timber and wood products, and tobacco. According to the International Monetary Fund (data.imf.org), countries and territories buying and importing most of those exports (February 2017 statistics) include the United States (top importer), Japan, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, China, Belgium, France, Spain, Thailand, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Italy, Vietnam, South Korea, Malaysia, Australia, Denmark, the United Arab Emirates, and Poland.

Lake Tonle Sap

In west-central CAMBODIA lies a fairly large lake called Bœng Tônlé Sab in the Khmer language and Tonle Sap in English. Tonle Sap is surrounded by significant historic sites and steadfast centuries-old culture. One such mesmerizing place is Angkor Wat, a vast 12th-century Hindu-Buddhist temple located about 30 kilometers north of Tonle Sap. Fortunately, this and most other sites of interest are outside the boundary of Tonle Sap's largest possible extent. Its typical size is about 3,100 square kilometers (1,200 sq. miles), but the freshwater lake can expand up to 7,770 sq. kilometers (3,000 sq. miles) in the summertime. Tonle Sap is connected to the Sab river, which eventually meets up with the mighty Mekong river at Phnom Penh (Cambodia's capital). The Mekong then treks about 160 sq. kilometers southeast to reach the South China Sea's Mouths of the Mekong, a river delta near southern Vietnam. Communities located in close proximity to Tonle Sap include Batdambang, Kampong Khleang, Krakor, Phumi Phsar, and Pouthisat.

Cambodia Endangered Species

As of January 19th, 2015, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ for CAMBODIA lists 28 critically endangered species and 59 endangered species. Some of Cambodia's critically endangered species listed on the IUCN Red List include the Bengal Florican bird, Christmas Frigatebird, "giant" species (Giant Carp, Giant Ibis, Giant Pangasius, Mekong Giant Catfish, and Mekong Giant Salmon Carp), Javan Rhinoceros and Sumatran Rhinoceros, Sunda Pangolin, and White-shouldered Ibis. Not surprising because of its name, the Giant Pangasius ranks as one of the largest freshwater fish species currently in existence. Giant Pangasius fish currently inhabit the Chao Phraya river basin in central and southern Thailand and the Mekong river and its tributaries in southern and western Vietnam, east-central and eastern Cambodia, southern and western Laos, and eastern and northern Thailand. The Giant Pangasius is threatened by similar devastating occurrences that thousands of other species in the world have to contend with: pollution, overharvesting of fish, and agricultural runoff of too many nutrients.

Discover more about Cambodia! (link to my blog post)

Mekong River

Rivers around the world are important modes of transportation in both developed and developing countries, and the Mekong River in Southeast Asia is no exception! Providing a vital route for shipping goods like rice, cotton, vegetables, peanuts, timber, and minerals to the South China Sea and beyond, the Mekong originates in southern Qinghai Province in southern CHINA (where it is called the Lancang River), and then flows south and serves as part of the border for LAOS, MYANMAR (Burma), and THAILAND. Next, it flows through southern Laos and CAMBODIA before turning southeast through southern VIETNAM, then reaches the Mouths of the Mekong, Mekong Delta, and the South China Sea.

Cities Along the Mekong River
The largest city along the Mekong in southern China is Jinghong, which is in Yunnan Province. Laos' four largest cities - Louangphrabang, Vientiane (Laos' capital), Savannakhet, and Paxhé - are also located beside the Mekong. Further south, the Mekong flows past Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh. Finally, Vietnamese cities such as Cao Lanh, Sa Dec, Vinh Long, My Tho, Ben Tre, and Tra Vinh are located beside the river and the distributaries in the Mekong Delta.

Capital of Cambodia

The capital of CAMBODIA, a southeast Asian country and kingdom, is Phnom Penh! To learn more about Cambodia, visit my Cambodia post (opens in a new window)!

Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat, a world-famous temple, is located in CAMBODIA. This temple is located near the city of Siem Reap. To learn more about Cambodia, visit my Cambodia post!

Cambodia

CAMBODIA is an Indochinese country in Southeast Asia that borders the countries of Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. This country was formerly known as Kampuchea. The capital of Cambodia is Phnom Penh! The currency is the Cambodian Riel, and its ISO 4217 currency code is KHR. A significant, well-known, and historical structure is Angkor Wat, a Khmer temple built in the early 1100s (12th century) and located north of Siem Reap (Siemreab) city as well as Tônlé Sap, Cambodia’s largest lake.

● ● ● ● ●  People and Places  ● ● ● ● ●  According to Encyclopædia Britannica, Cambodia’s population in the year 2020 was about 15,535,000 and was ranked 71st among populations of the whole world’s countries, dependencies, and territories. Phnom Penh is Cambodia’s economic capital and largest city with a population of over 1,500,000. Other Cambodian cities include Batdambang (Battambang), Kampong Cham, Kracheh, Phumi Samraong, Siemreab (Siem Reap), Sihanoukville, and Sisophon. Designated due to cultural and natural importance, UNESCO World Heritage Sites located throughout Cambodia include the iconic Angkor Wat — added to the World Heritage List in 1992 — as well as Angkor Thom (Bayon Temple), Ker archaeological site, Preah Vihear Temple, and Sambor Prei Kuk Temple Zone. Other notable places and sites of interest all across the country include the Royal Palace and its Silver Pagoda; tenth-century Banteay Srei Temple; twelfth-century Ta Prohm Temple and its Terrace of the Elephants; PH Euro Park, built to imitate quintessentially European sights such as the Eiffel Tower and Dutch windmills (but there’s also a mini Sydney Opera House as a non-European bonus); the bustling Central Market; the vibrantly lit nightlife hub of Pub Street; and the Tuol Sleng Memorial Museum.

As of 2025, approximately 27 languages are used for communication in Cambodia, including the following languages: Khmer (official), Central Mnong, Chinese (Mandarin, Min Nan, and Yue), English, French, Jarai, Kaco’, Kraol, Kravet, Kru’ng, Kuy, Lao, Lave, Somray, Stieng Bulo, Tampuan, Thai, Vietnamese, and Western Cham. A majority of Cambodians have Khmer heritage, while some residents have Chinese or Vietnamese ethnicity. Theravada Buddhist is the official and majority (~86%) religion of Cambodia. Ethnic religions, Chinese Universalism, Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Bahá’í, etc. are minority beliefs and religions.

● ● ● ● ●  Land and Water Features  ● ● ● ● ●  Tônlé Sap is by far the largest lake in Cambodia and sits across the country’s central and northwest areas. The Mekong is the longest river and is revered and well-traveled. This mighty river starts in the northeast, goes straight south, veers southwest towards Phnom Penh, flows eastward and southward into southern Vietnam, then empties into the Mekong Delta — and subsequently the East Sea (South China Sea). Cambodia’s curvy southwest coastline abuts the Gulf of Thailand. Other Cambodian rivers and tributaries include the Bassak, Chas, Chinit, Kong, Peam, Sab, San, Sen, Sreng, and Srêpôk. There are several waterfalls throughout the countryside, one of which is Kbal Chhay located northeast of Sihanoukville in southern Cambodia. On the other side of Cambodia are the Khone Falls where the Mekong enters Cambodia from Laos. Bokor and Phnom Kulen national parks have waterfalls. Several islands of Cambodia have waterfalls, most notably the three or so waterfalls on the island of Kaoh Rung (Koh Rong). Immediately north of Sihanoukville is a bay named Chhak Kampong Saom (Kompong Som Bay).

Sprinkled in the rivers and bays of Cambodia are dozens of islands with all sorts of shapes and sizes. In addition to Koh Rong mentioned above, some island examples include Chanloh, Dach (Silk), Damlaung, Daong, Dek Koul, Koh Ki, Koh Kapi, Kong, Oknha Tei, Preab, Pring, Puos, Rong Sanloem, Russey (Bamboo), Seh, Ta Kiev, Tang, Thas, and Thmei. Mount Sâmkôs (1743 meters) and Mount Aôral (1813 meters) both stand almost like goalposts for the “football” known as the Krâvanh Mountains. The Dâmrei Mountains are further south near the aforementioned Chhak Kampong Saom. Conversely, the Dangrek Mountains straddle the northern border with eastern Thailand. Including Bokor and Phnom Kulen national parks mentioned above, here are some preserves and wildlife sanctuaries throughout Cambodia: Kulen Prum Tep, Lumphat, Phnom Sâmkôs, Ream, Roneam Daun Sam, and Virachey.

Map Note: The island of Ãao Phu Quôc belongs to Vietnam. On my newest versions of maps, islands that are green or white (with transparency) belong to other countries.

This post was updated with more information in July 2025.