Keys to Survivor Kaoh Rong Episode 13

Placements for eliminated players thus far:
18th Darnell - Brawn (voted out Episode 1, Day 3)
17th Jenny - Brawn (voted out Episode 2, Day 6)
16th Liz - Brains (voted out Episode 3, Day 8)
15th Caleb - Beauty (medical evacuation due to heat stroke, Day 9)
14th Alecia - Brawn (voted out Episode 4, Day 11)
13th Anna - Beauty (voted out Episode 5, Day 13)
12th Peter - Brains (voted out Episode 6, Day 16)
---Start forming the jury---
11th Neal - Brains (medical evacuation due to infection near knee, Day 19)
10th Nick - Beauty (voted out Episode 8, Day 22)
9th Debbie - Brains (voted out Episode 9, Day 24)
8th Scot - Brawn (voted out Episode 10, Day 27)
7th Julia - Beauty (voted out Episode 11, Day 29)
6th Jason - Brawn (voted out Episode 12, Day 32)

Tribes as of the beginning of Episode 12:
Dara (merged tribe - black buffs)
Aubry - former Brains
Cydney - former Brawn
Joe - former Brains
Michele - former Beauty
Tai - former Beauty (has a hidden immunity idol, last time it can be used)

Reward Challenge:
Race into the jungle to a large wooden ladder. Climb up and retrieve a bag of sandbags. Race back and attempt to launch the sandbags into a series of targets. First person to get one sandbag in each of their five targets wins a trip to a Survivor spa. Bath, massage, meal of chicken, beef and cheesecake, stay the night on a real bed before waking up and returning to camp.

Details on order of challenge and who did what:
There are 3 bags, each with 5 sandbags, that apparently must be retrieved individually, only going back for another set once all of them from the previous set have been thrown.
Order of arrival at the ladder: Cydney, Michele, Aubry, Tai, Joe.
Order of return to the throwing station: Cydney, Michele, Aubry, Tai, Joe.
Players and the color of their sandbags and targets from left to right when viewing the throwing station from the targets:
Aubry with purple.
Cydney with red.
Joe with yellow.
Michele with blue.
Tai with orange.
Cydney scores her 1st target, followed by Aubry.
Cydney, Aubry, Michele, Tai all head back to the jungle as Joe arrives with his first set of sandbags.
Order returning with sandbag set #2: Cydney, Aubry, Michele, Tai
Cydney hits the same target, so still only has one.
Aubry gets a 2nd target.
Cydney gets a 2nd target.
Aubry gets a 3rd target.
Michele gets her 1st target.
Order returning with sandbag set #3: Aubry, Cydney, Michele, Tai
Aubry needs to land 2 of 5 to win. Her 2nd sandbag hits the furthest target so she only needs one more.
Aubry misses with her last 3 sandbags so is stuck at 4 of 5 targets.
Jeff tells us the rule that once you've thrown all 15 sandbags you have to wait until everyone has thrown all 15 before you can retrieve any of them, and someone may win before that.
Cydney runs out of bags and has only 2 of 5 targets.
Joe hits his 1st and 2nd targets while throwing his 2nd set.
Tai and Michele run out of sandbags and now must wait.
Joe hits a 3rd target.
Joe heads out into the jungle for his 3rd set of sandbags. Everyone else has to wait for him, so he can now take his time with the rest of the challenge.
Joe returns with his last 5 sandbags while the rest of the players are stretching, resting, relaxing.
Joe misses with 3 sandbags and now has only 2 left to hit 2 targets.
Joe hits his 4th target with the next sandbag and must hit the last one to win.
With his last sandbag, Joe hits the furthest target and wins reward.
#GETSITDONEAT71
Jeff tells Joe he has a decision to make. He has to choose one person to join him.
Joe chooses Aubry since they have stuck together since the original Brain tribe.
Now Joe has to choose one more person to bring. Aubry tries to tell Joe who should go and he lets her choose.
Aubry & Joe choose Cydney to go on reward with them.
That leaves Michele and Tai going back to camp with nothing.

Reward (day 33):
Cydney enjoys the chicken wraps. Joe eats lots of the red meat despite normally not eating much meat in his regular life. Cydney separately notes that eating that much beef probably won't feel good later.
Aubry, Cydney and Joe talk strategy. Joe wants to get rid of Tai, but Aubry reminds him that Tai has an immunity idol. Joe thinks that he and Cydney aren't threats compared to Aubry. Ironically it made Aubry realize that Cydney is a big threat and that she might want to bring Tai to the final three.

Camp (day 33):
Michele and Tai shouldn't get along because they had quite the verbal war at the last tribal council. However, they decide to talk things out in the water. They get on the same page with each other. It leads to them having their own spa day, with Tai giving Michele a Thai-style massage. They discuss strategy and entertain the possibility of working together and trying to work with Cydney since she's the only one who might switch sides.

Camp (day 34):
Aubry makes amends with Tai after having lied to him before the previous tribal council. Tai is now willing to work with Aubry again. Cydney notices that Aubry & Tai look too comfortable together when they return from the water well. Cydney & Michele then talk strategy and figure out how they want to work together in the end.
Joe isn't feeling well. He claims he ate about 8 steaks, or 'three feet', of beef at the reward and now he's bloated and isn't passing urine. Medical comes out to check on him and gives him some medicine to attempt to resolve the issue. Part of the problem is that due to his age he has an enlarged prostate that is pressing on things. He is also constipated from the food he ate at the reward.

Camp (night 34):
Joe still isn't feeling well. The medicine did not clear things up as much as he needed it to. Medical came back to reassess his situation. Based on all the facts, medical decided they need to pull Joe from the game to prevent him from suffering kidney damage. He was in enough pain that he wasn't too upset about having to leave the game.
This sets the record for most medical evacuations in a single season - 3 (Caleb, Neal, Joe).

Immunity & Tribal:
There was no immunity challenge or tribal council due to how late in the game this medical evacuation happened and how few players remain in the game.

Finale on Wednesday May 18th:
The 2-hour finale is on Wednesday, followed by the 1-hour live reunion show that starts with the winner being revealed.
The final 4 players: Aubry, Cydney, Michele, Tai
The jury, so far: Neal, Nick, Debbie, Scot, Julia, Jason, Joe
Nobody in this game has won 2 individual immunity challenges. Aubry is the only one left that has not won an individual challenge.
Despite having only 4 players left on day 34, nobody seems to have considered that it could be a final two at the final tribal council.

Keys to Survivor Kaoh Rong Episode 12

Placements for eliminated players thus far:
18th Darnell - Brawn (voted out Episode 1, Day 3)
17th Jenny - Brawn (voted out Episode 2, Day 6)
16th Liz - Brains (voted out Episode 3, Day 8)
15th Caleb - Beauty (medical evacuation after Reward challenge, Day 9)
14th Alecia - Brawn (voted out Episode 4, Day 11)
13th Anna - Beauty (voted out Episode 5, Day 13)
12th Peter - Brains (voted out Episode 6, Day 16)
---Start forming the jury---
11th Neal - Brains (medical evacuation due to infection near knee, Day 19)
10th Nick - Beauty (voted out Episode 8, Day 22)
9th Debbie - Brains (voted out Episode 9, Day 24)
8th Scot - Brawn (voted out Episode 10, Day 27)
7th Julia - Beauty (voted out Episode 11, Day 29)

Tribes as of the beginning of Episode 12:
Dara (merged tribe - black buffs)
Aubry - former Brains
Cydney - former Brawn
Jason - former Brawn
Joe - former Brains
Michele - former Beauty
Tai - former Beauty (has a hidden immunity idol and an extra vote)

Reward Challenge:
Divided into two teams of three, one at a time they will race through a series of obstacles out to a floating maze. Once all three players are there they will work together to maneauver 3 balls through the maze to central divots.
Reward is a trip to the Wildlife Alliance - an organization in Cambodia that rescues animals from poachers and illegal traders and brings them to this sanctuary to live a better life. They'll visit the facility, interact with the animals, and enjoy an afternoon picnic.

Details on order of challenge and who did what:
Team 1: Aubry, Cydney, Joe
Team 2: Jason, Michele, Tai
The order of obstacles:
Swim to platform #1.
Traverse a cargo net that is slightly under water to arrive at platform #2.
Swim to platform #3 (this one has the balls needed for the maze).
Swim to the floating maze.
Jason & Joe are the first to begin for their teams.
Jason takes the lead and is at platform 3 before Joe makes it onto platform 1.
Jason arrives at the floating platform.
Michele goes next for Team 2.
Michele gets to her spot on the floating platform.
Tai goes last for Team 2.
Joe finally gets to his place on the floating platform.
Cydney goes next for Team 1.
Tai gets ball #1 at platform 3 on his way to the floating maze.
Cydney arrives at the floating maze.
Aubry goes last for Team 1.
Team 2 starts the maze with ball 1.
Team 1 is now starting the maze with ball 1.
Team 2 is working well together, being directed by Jason.
The maze is circular. The ball starts at an outside edge and must be moved closer to the middle through various openings. The method that seems to be working is to get the ball lined up in the correct location where an opening is, then have two people move around the outside of the puzzle in opposite directions so that the maze tilts towards the opening, then all 3 people move around the circle in the direction of the next inner opening.
Aubry gets ball #1 at platform 3 on her way to the floating maze.
Team 2 lands their first ball. Jason retrieves the 2nd ball.
Team 2 lands their second ball. Jason retrieves the 3rd ball.
Team 1 lands their first ball. Aubry retrieves the 2nd ball.
Team 2 lands their third ball.
Jason, Michele, and Tai win reward.

Reward experience:
The director of wildlife, Nick, brings over an elephant named Lucky.
They then get to enter a monkey enclosure where they can interact with and feed various monkeys.

Immunity Challenge:
Hold onto a rope that balances a wobbly table. Race out and collect wooden blocks one at a time, stacking them one on top of another and spelling out 'IMMUNITY'. If at any point the stack falls you have to start over. First person to finish wins immunit and a 1 in 5 shot of winning this game.

Details on order of challenge and who did what:
The 8 blocks are arranged diagonally at the starting table, in correct spelling order so that the 'Y' is at the back right corner and 'I' is at the front left corner.
From left to right when facing the tables:
Joe - Yellow
Tai - Red
Jason - Purple
Aubry - Orange
Cydney - Green
Michele - Blue
Everyone arrives with the 'Y' at roughly the same time and starts heading back to the table.
Cydney is moving the slowest. Joe is moving the fastest.
The weight of the rope itself causes the table to tilt back towards the contestants.
They all have started their stack near the middle of the table, with one edge along a white painted line. I suspect they were told their stack had to touch that line.
Some carry the block back in their teeth.
Initial order of 2nd block, the 'T', placement: Joe, Michele, Tai, Aubry, Jason, ...
Initial order of 3rd block, the 'I', placement: Joe, Michele, Tai, Jason, Aubry, ...
Joe gets to the 3rd block, the 'N', before Cydney gets her 2nd.
First to get the 4th block, the 'U', is Joe.
First to get the 5th block, an 'M' is Joe.
Joe is the first to have his table drop. Michele is in the lead with 5.
Michele's table drops. Tai is in the lead with 5.
Aubry's table drops.
Tai's table drops. Jason is in the lead with 5 and Cydney is in 2nd place.
Joe realizes that his restarted stack has an 'I' at the bottom, so he has to start over again.
Jason's table drops. Cydney is in the lead with 4.
Joe's 2nd block is an 'I' so he has to return to the start again.
Joe's 4th block is an 'I' again so he returns to the start to get the right letter.
Michele's table drops with 5 blocks.
Tai's table drops with 5 blocks.
Aubry's table drops with 5 blocks.
Cydney now is leading with 6 blocks and Jason close behind.
Jason gets to 7 and is returning with block 8.
Jason and Cydney both place block 8 at about the same time.
Jason's table drops.
Cydney wins individual immunity, having never had her stack of blocks drop.
Note that after 6 challenges, nobody has won individual immunity twice.

Leading up to tribal:
Cydney is upset with Joe for being bossy at camp a few days ago, and is also upset with Tai because Tai tried to dictate who everyone should vote for.
Tai is gunning for Michele because she hasn't made enemies on of jury members.
Aubry understands Tai's point, but the others are leaning towards Jason.
Tai advises Jason to vote for Michele, but he wants to vote for Joe because he doesn't trust Tai anymore.

Tribal Council:
Most of the discussion surrounds what Tai talked about and with whom. Tai reveals that there is a smaller group within the bigger group of five and even admits that Michele is not in the smaller group. Michele makes the case that Tai has turned on every alliance he has been in. Tai and Michele keep firing at each other. Jason sits back and says nothing since the focus isn't on him, until Jeff brings that up and asks him a few questions.
After everyone votes, Tai reveals what his advantage is, and that he wants to use his extra vote tonight.
Tai does not play his immunity idol.
The votes are 4-2-1 (Jason, Michele, Joe).
Aubry, Cydney, Joe, and Michele voted for Jason.
Tai voted twice for Michele.
Jason voted for Joe.
Jason is voted out and becomes the 6th member of the jury.

Keys to Survivor Kaoh Rong Episode 11

Placements for eliminated players thus far:
18th Darnell - Brawn (voted out Episode 1, Day 3)
17th Jenny - Brawn (voted out Episode 2, Day 6)
16th Liz - Brains (voted out Episode 3, Day 8)
15th Caleb - Beauty (medical evacuation after Reward challenge, Day 9)
14th Alecia - Brawn (voted out Episode 4, Day 11)
13th Anna - Beauty (voted out Episode 5, Day 13)
12th Peter - Brains (voted out Episode 6, Day 16)
---Start forming the jury---
11th Neal - Brains (medical evacuation due to infection near knee, Day 19)
10th Nick - Beauty (voted out Episode 8, Day 22)
9th Debbie - Brains (voted out Episode 9, Day 24)
8th Scot - Brawn (voted out Episode 10, Day 27)

Tribes as of the beginning of Episode 11:
Dara (merged tribe - black buffs)
Aubry - former Brains
Cydney - former Brawn
Jason - former Brawn
Joe - former Brains
Julia - former Beauty
Michele - former Beauty
Tai - former Beauty (has a hidden immunity idol and an extra vote)

Reward Challenge:
Race through a series of obstacles, collecting rings along the way. Once you have all 3 rings, you'll attempt to land them on a swinging hook. First to finish wins reward.
Reward is a helicopter ride with a view of the island followed by a picnic on a sand spit in the middle of the ocean.
Fried chicken, corn on the cob, apple pie, soft drinks, wine.
You will be tethered together in pairs, chosen by random drawing, and one person will not participate.

Details on order of challenge and who did what:
Team 1: Joe & Tai
Team 2: Aubry & Julia
Team 3: Cydney & Michele
Not participating: Jason

The first obstacle is a 3.5 foot high beam that you must get over.
Aubry & Julia get over it first, then Cydney & Michele, then Joe & Tai.
Untie the first ring: Cydney & Michele, Joe & Tai, Aubry & Julia.
Next obstacle is a 2 foot high series of logs that you must alternate going over and under.
Cydney & Michele finish this first, Aubry & Julia next, followed by Joe & Tai.
Untie the second ring: Cydney & Michele, Aubry & Julia, Joe & Tai.
The 3rd obstacle is a small tower. Climb the tower and use a 10 foot pole to retrieve a ring hanging from an angled piece of wood at the top of a post.
Aubry, Michele, and Tai attempt to retrieve first. Cydney switches in for Michele.
Aubry gets the 3rd ring first, then Tai, then Cydney a second later.
Julia starts tossing the rings but misses with all 3.
Tai misses with all 3.
Cydney lands 1 of her first 3.
Joe takes over for Tai and gets his first one. Cydney gets a 2nd one. Joe gets a 2nd one.
Aubry switches in for Julia but doesn't land any either.
Joe just misses, then Cydney gets the 3rd ring.
Cydney & Michele win reward.

Twist:
The winners must choose one person to join them for reward. It can be anyone, but they must agree. They choose Aubry with the rationale that Aubry hasn't eaten yet.

Immunity Challenge:
Race out to a platform in the water where you will memorize symbols and corresponding numbers. You will then race back and use the numbers to solve a combination that will release a key. If you get the right key, it will unlock a box containing puzzle pieces. First person to solve their word puzzle wins immunity and is guaranteed a 1 in 6 chance at winning this game.

Details on order of challenge and who did what:
Order of arrival at the triangular obstacle in the water between the beach and the platform: Jason, Aubry, Cydney, Michele, Tai, Julia, Joe.
Order of arrival at the memorization platform: Jason, Aubry & Michele, Cydney, Tai, Julia, Joe.
Probst: "There is no rhyme or reason to the symbol or the number that is with it. But you have to make a connection. You gotta find a way in your brain to connect every symbol and lock that number in. You don't know which symbols you're gonna need when you get back to the start. It's unlikely you can remember all of them at once. You've got to memorize what you can and then head back."

There are 12 symbol/number pairs around an octogon shaped board. Viewing the board from the opposite side as the contestants, starting at 12 o'clock and going clockwise, here are the pairs (with my interpretation of the symbol):
Mammal - 11 (no idea what this symbol actually is)
Monkey - 10
Eagle - 3
Crocodile - 12
Salamander - 17
Water Buffalo - 4
Fish - 15
Shark - 9
Toucan - 13
Snake - 6
Spider - 7
Crab - 8

Blogger's Note: I believe I memorized all of these after pausing for about a minute on a screen that showed them all. The next morning I wrote them down using long-term memory and still had 10 of 12 correct (Eagle and Fish had not stayed in memory). So I truly hope I can have a challenge like this one if I get the honor of playing Survivor.

Order of departure from the platform: Cydney, Jason, Julia, Michele, Aubry, Tai, Joe.
Order of arrival at the triagular platform on the way back: Jason, Cydney, Michele, Julia, Aubry, Tai, Joe.
Order arriving back at the key wheel: Cydney, Jason, Michele, Aubry, Julia, Tai, Joe.
Each station has different symobls from the ones next to it. They all have you turn it clockwise first, then alternate directions.

Here is the order of the stations by person and color of station, with the symbols I could make out. Stations are left to right when viewed from the water.

Tai - Purple: Shark, Crab, Water Buffalo, Mammal, Salamander
Michele - Red: Fish, Croc, Snake, Eagle, Toucan
Jason - Yellow: Shark, Crab, Water Buffalo, Mammal, Salamander
Aubry - Black: Fish, Croc, Snake Eagle, Eagle, Toucan
Cydney - Orange: ____, Crab, Water Buffalo, Mammal, ____
Joe - Blue: ____, ____, ____, ____, ____
Julia - Green: Shark, Crab, Water Buffalo, Mammal, Salamander

The pattern seems to alternate. If that was true, the following symbols were completely unnecessary: Monkey & Spider.
Michele puts sand on her board and writes the numbers in it. Tai, on her left, copies the strategy.
Aubry is first to head back out in the water, then Cydney, then Tai.
Jason is first to try a key, but it doesn't work and he heads back out.
Julia tries next and gets it right.
Michele is next and her key is right too.
Joe is out of gas so he stands there as the challenge unfolds.
The two girls start solving the 10-letter word puzzle.
Jason & Aubry start heading back to the beach.
Michele figures it out. The word is BLINDSIDED.
Michele wins individual immunity. When Jeff asks how many numbers she memorized she tells him she memorized all of them.

Tribal Council:
Tai is very uncomfortable with how things were discussed. He asks Aubry, with a whisper, if he should play his idol. She tells him "I think you're fine, but it's your gut."
Tai does not play his idol.
The votes are 5-2 (Julia, Tai).
Aubry, Cydney, Joe, Michele, & Tai voted for Julia.
Jason & Julia voted for Tai.
Michele looks upset that she had to vote for Julia.
Julia is voted out and becomes the 5th member of the jury.

Keys to Survivor Kaoh Rong Episode 10

Placements for eliminated players thus far:
18th Darnell - Brawn (voted out Episode 1, Day 3)
17th Jenny - Brawn (voted out Episode 2, Day 6)
16th Liz - Brains (voted out Episode 3, Day 8)
15th Caleb - Beauty (medical evacuation after Reward challenge, Day 9)
14th Alecia - Brawn (voted out Episode 4, Day 11)
13th Anna - Beauty (voted out Episode 5, Day 13)
12th Peter - Brains (voted out Episode 6, Day 16)
---Start forming the jury---
11th Neal - Brains (medical evacuation due to infection near knee, Day 19)
10th Nick - Beauty (voted out Episode 8, Day 22)
9th Debbie - Brains (voted out Episode 9, Day 24)

Tribes as of the beginning of Episode 10:
Dara (merged tribe - black buffs)
Aubry - former Brains
Cydney - former Brawn
Jason - former Brawn (gave his immunity idol to Tai)
Joe - former Brains
Julia - former Beauty
Michele - former Beauty
Scot - former Brawn
Tai - former Beauty (has 2 hidden immunity idols)

Aftermath from previous vote:
Tai hands the extra immunity idol back to Jason.
Scot tells Aubry that camp can return to normal if they will be on board with voting out Cydney.

Reward Challenge:
Stand on a platform with one foot on one end of a balancing beam that has a large ceramic pot sitting on top of a smaller ceramic pot. You can't touch the structure. When your pots drop, you're out of the challenge.
There are 3 different rewards. You must choose secretly which you want to play for before the challenge starts.
Reward #1: Food - Bacon cheeseburger, french fries, cold beer, soda, chocolate chip cookies.
Reward #2: Love - Letters from your loved ones.
Reward #3: Advantage - specifics to remain a mystery until after the challenge.
You only compete against the people playing for the same reward.

Details on order of challenge and who did what:
Playing for Advantage:  Tai, Cydney, Aubry
Playing for Food:  Scot, Jason, Michele
Playing for Love:  Julia, Joe
Joe is out in 30 seconds.
Julia wins letters from home.
Scot is out less than 2 minutes in, leaving Jason & Michele to fight for Food.
With a breeze, Jason drops at about 3 minutes in.
Michele wins food.
Cydney is out at about 4 minutes, leaving Tai & Aubry fighting for Advantage.
Elapsed time: 10 minutes.
After another breeze, Aubry drops out.
Tai wins the advantage.
It should be noted that the former Beauty tribe swept this challenge.

Tai is instructed to bring the advantage back to camp, find a private spot, open it, and read it.
The note tells him to go to Tree Mail.
At Tree Mail, he opens a box that says "Congratulations, You've won yourself an extra vote."
He does not have to share this information. The extra vote will be in addition to his regular vote at tribal council. It cannot be stolen from him. It is to be used after Jeff says "I'll go tally the votes". At that time you will announce it and return to the voting booth to write another name and place it into the urn. The vote is non-transferrable. The last time this extra vote can be used is when there are 5 people left in the game.

Immunity Challenge:
Stretch your arms out and use your fingertips to press against 2 wooden disks. Attached to the disks are ceramic pots that are hanging from twine. If either pot drops, you're out of the challenge.
The distance between the posts on the other side of the wooden disks must be normalized to the height of the person at each station since all contestants are reaching out about equally.
It is designed so you can't put your palms flat on the disks.

Details on order of challenge and who did what:
Joe is out in 8th place in less than a minute.
Elapsed time: 25 minutes.
Scot is out in 7th place.
Julia is out in 6th place.
Tai is out in 5th place.
Michele is out in 4th place.
Elapsed time: 45 minutes.
Cydney is out in 3rd place.
Elapsed time: 1 hour, 15 minutes.
Aubry is out in 2nd place.
Jason wins individual immunity and is guaranteed at least a 1 in 7 chance of winning.

Tribal Council:
Before tribal council, Jason gave his immunity idol to Scot in case it is needed as part of a super idol.
Before the votes are read aloud, Julia tells Tai to play his idol. Scot tells Tai not to play it.
The votes are 4-2-2 (Scot, Aubry, Tai).
Scot and Jason wait for Tai to help Scot to create a super idol. Tai doen't offer any help.
Scot shakes hands with Jason and wishes him good luck.
Aubry, Cydney, Joe, and Tai voted for Scot.
Jason and Scot voted for Aubry.
Julia and Michele voted for Tai.
Scot is voted out and becomes the 4th member of the jury. #Wow
Because Scot was in possession of a hidden immunity idol, it leaves the game with him.

Keys to Survivor Kaoh Rong Episode 9

Placements for eliminated players thus far:
18th Darnell - Brawn (voted out Episode 1, Day 3)
17th Jenny - Brawn (voted out Episode 2, Day 6)
16th Liz - Brains (voted out Episode 3, Day 8)
15th Caleb - Beauty (medical evacuation after Reward challenge, Day 9)
14th Alecia - Brawn (voted out Episode 4, Day 11)
13th Anna - Beauty (voted out Episode 5, Day 13)
12th Peter - Brains (voted out Episode 6, Day 16)
---Start forming the jury---
11th Neal - Brains (medical evacuation after Immunity challenge due to infection near knee, Day 19)
10th Nick - Beauty (voted out Episode 8, Day 22)

Tribes as of the beginning of Episode 9:
Dara (merged tribe - black buffs)
Aubry - former Brains
Cydney - former Brawn
Debbie - former Brains
Jason - former Brawn (has hidden immunity idol)
Joe - former Brains
Julia - former Beauty
Michele - former Beauty
Scot - former Brawn
Tai - former Beauty (has hidden immunity idol)

Sabatoge at camp:
Jason & Scot are upset that the guys were blindsided by the women. They decide to steal and hide the axe and machete to deprive the rest of the tribe of food. When the women decide they can roast a coconut and cut it open with a saw, Scot douses the fire with 5 gallons of drinking water.
Later in the episode, Tai douses the fire early in the morning, despite having not been in favor of this mode of play at first.

Reward Challenge:
Divide into 2 teams of 4. Each player is attached to a long rope. The ropes are braided together so the players must work together to separate themselves. Once you are completely unbraided, you unclip and race to the final station where you use sandbags to knock blocks off of a ledge. First team to knock all of the blocks completely off the ledge wins Chinese take-out delivered to camp.

Details on order of challenge and who did what:
There was going to be a schoolyard pick, but due to the tribe split talked about when they arrived, Jeff gives them the option to form their own teams if they all agree. However, one person will be left out and gets to pick a team to celebrate with if they win.
Joe immediately agrees to sit out.
Jason, Scot & Tai will be on a team and Jason asks if one of the girls wants to join them in the challenge.
Without much discussion, Julia agrees to play on the guys' team.
Joe chooses to share reward with the girls if they win.
The guys and Julie are unbraided and unclipped first.
Jason starts throwing sandbags first.
There are approximately 50 blocks, all tall cylinders.
Cydney starts throwing for the women.
Scot takes over for Jason.
Debbie takes over for Cydney.
Jason takes over for Scot with just 3 blocks left and 5 for the women.
Jason, Julie, Scot, and Tai win reward.

Immunity Challenge:
Stack a series of blocks on a narrow beam while attempting to avoid trip obstacles. If you hit the obstacle, blocks will likely fall and you'll have to restack. The goal is to use the blocks like dominos so that the final block falls on a gong. The blocks can only be transported from the start to the beam one at a time and you must be completely inside the trip obstacle before placing a block. If a block drops to the groud it must be brought back to the start. More than one block can be touched and repositioned while you are in the obstacle.

Details on order of challenge and who did what:
Tai is the first to drop a block.
Jason loses about 1/3 of the blocks when he trips.
Scot loses more than 1/2 when he trips.
Tai loses most of his blocks next.
Aubry races too fast and drops most of her blocks.
Cydney trips again.
Michele goes for the win first, but as the dominos fall a few blocks near the end fall off sideways, so she has to restart.
Debbie tries for the win next, but only the first 1/3 of her blocks tip correctly.
Scot trips and drops everything again.
Jason starts restacking from the back so his last block retrievals go faster.
Jason tries for the win, but a few blocks fall sideways and he has to restart.
Debbie tries again, but not everything falls.
Julia goes for the win and successfully hits the gong.
Julia wins individual immunity and a 1 in 8 shot at winning Survivor.

Tribal Council lead up:
Some had wanted to vote Julia out. Some wanted to vote out Jason or Tai. But because Julia is safe, the guys are the target. Debbie reveals the full vote split plan to Julia, but Cydney & Aubry don't trust Julia right now, so start considering Debbie as a target.

Tribal Council:
Scot reveals that Tai has a hidden immunity idol.
Jason reveals that he also has a hidden immunity idol.
Tai says he will be playing his idol.
Jason says he and Scot will play rock-paper-scissors after the vote to decide which of them play it.
Multiple quiet conversations start happening.
Michele notes that Tai could give his idol to either Scot or Jason, further complicating things.
Voting commences.
If anybody has a hidden immunity idol and you want to play it, now would be the time to do so.
Tai shakes his head no.
Jason loses rock-paper-scissors. He played rock, Scot had paper. But he then hands the idol to Tai. Tai accepts Jason's idol and places them both in his pocket and sits down.
The votes are 4-3-2 (Debbie, Cydney, Scot).
Jason, Scot, and Tai voted for Cydney.
Debbie and Joe voted for Scot.
The rest of the girls voted for Debbie.
Debbie is voted out and becomes the 3rd member of the jury. #Blindside

Keys to Survivor Kaoh Rong Episode 8

Placements for eliminated players thus far:
18th Darnell - Brawn (voted out Episode 1, Day 3)
17th Jenny - Brawn (voted out Episode 2, Day 6)
16th Liz - Brains (voted out Episode 3, Day 8)
15th Caleb - Beauty (medical evacuation after Reward challenge, Day 9)
14th Alecia - Brawn (voted out Episode 4, Day 11)
13th Anna - Beauty (voted out Episode 5, Day 13)
12th Peter - Brains (voted out Episode 6, Day 16)
---Start forming the jury---
11th Neal - Brains (medical evacuation after Immunity challenge due to infection near knee, Day 19)

Tribes as of the beginning of Episode 8:
Dara (merged tribe - black buffs)
Aubry - former Brains
Cydney - former Brawn
Debbie - former Brains
Jason - former Brawn (has hidden immunity idol)
Joe - former Brains
Julia - former Beauty
Michele - former Beauty
Nick - former Beauty
Scot - former Brawn
Tai - former Beauty (has hidden immunity idol)

Reward Challenge:
They will be divided into 2 teams of 5. They will race out to one large platform, and transfer one tribe member from that platform to another one using 2 stepping poles. Once they have been transferred, everyone gets into the large platform, jumps off, swims to a small platform and must all get all 5 team members on or above the top deck.
Winning team gets ice cream. They all get to share one small bowl before the challenge begins.

Details on order of challenge and who did what:
Schoolyard pick chosen by captains (drawn at random).
Julie is captain of the yellow team and chose Debbie, Nick, Scot, and Tai, who are the 2 largest and 2 smallest people out there.
Aubry was the captian for the blue team and chose Cydney, Jason, Joe, and Michele, who are more evenly sized.
Julia and Aubry are the ones being transported on the
Aubry falls early and has to start over.
Aubry falls again.
Julia making slow progress.
Aubry falls again.
Scot & Nick have height and strength that is helping.
Aubry falls a 4th time. Michele tries next.
Michele falls on the 2nd step transfer.
Nearly at the 2nd platform Julie almost falls.
Michele falls again. Cydney tries but falls again.
Julie makes it to the 2nd platform. The rest of the yellow team head to the final platform.
Cydney falls again. Michele tries to get transported again.
The yellow tribe climbs the final platform.
Scot goes up first. Nick stands on Scot's feet and faces him. Debbie & Julia stand on each side of Scot. Tai climbs up behind Scot as Aubry falls again for the blue team.
Debbie, Julia, Nick, Scot, and Tai win ice cream, to be delivered back at camp.

Immunity Challenge:
You must stand with your back against a plank and your heels on a narrow platform with your hands over your shoulders holding onto handles. You're out if a foot comes off the perch or a hand comes of a handle.

Details on order of challenge and who did what:
Spots are randomly selected and the heights of the handles are then customized based on the height of the player at that station.
After 5 minutes Jeff says there will be one, and only one, option to come down for food. You can step down and enjoy a food temptation after he comes back with the food. You can't step down until Jeff officially opens the window.
Julia steps down first, but due to fatigue and before Jeff arrived with food, so she will not particiapte.
The food is 4 pizzas, brownies, drumsticks, 6 hot dogs, and some cold drinks.
Jeff begins the 10 second countdown.
Scot, then Jason & Joe step down first. Michele steps down next. The 4 of them share the food.
Tai wants to win and says he stayed up to prevent a Brain from winning. Nick confirms this.
Debbie drops out next.
Aubry and Nick drop out soon after.
Cydney and Tai are left fighting it out for the win.
Elapsed time - 30 mimutes. Tai asks if Cydney is feeling bad yet.
Elapsed time - 40 minutes.
Cydney drops out suddenly and slowly drops to the ground to rest her back.
Tai wins individual immunity and also drops to the ground to recover.

Tribal Council:
The plan going in seemed to be for Brawn & Beauty to split the vote between Debbie & Aubry, but there was potential talk of an all girls alliance.
At tribal, Tai brings up the notion of the super immunity idol, but didn't realize that not everyone knew about it.
The vote ends up 6-2-1-1 (Nick, Debbie, Aubry, Jason).
The vote for Jason came from Tai for unknown reason.
Nick is voted out and becomes the 2nd member of the jury. #Blindside

Keys to Survivor Kaoh Rong Episode 7

Placements for eliminated players thus far:
18th Darnell - Brawn (voted out Episode 1, Day 3)
17th Jenny - Brawn (voted out Episode 2, Day 6)
16th Liz - Brains (voted out Episode 3, Day 8)
15th Caleb - Beauty (medical evacuation after Reward challenge, Day 9)
14th Alecia - Brawn (voted out Episode 4, Day 11)
13th Anna - Beauty (voted out Episode 5, Day 13)
12th Peter - Brains (voted out Episode 6, Day 16)

Tribes as of the beginning of Episode 7:
Chan Loh
Cydney - former Brawn
Debbie - former Brains
Jason - former Brawn (has hidden immunity idol)
Michele - former Beauty
Neal - former Brains (has hidden immunity idol)
Nick - former Beauty

Gondol
Aubry - former Brains
Joe - former Brains
Julia - former Beauty
Scot - former Brawn
Tai - former Beauty (has hidden immunity idol)

Merge:
The Chan Loh tribe is picked up by boat and brought to Gondol beach. The new merged tribe has black buffs and they name it Dara.

Immunity Challenge:
For the first individual immunity challenge, stand on a small narrow log while balancing a ball on a disk. At regular intervals additional balls will be added. If at any point you fall off the perch or a ball drops or you touch a ball, you're out.

Details on order of challenge and who did what:
Start with 1 ball on the disk.
Joe 1st out in under a minute.
Debbie 2nd out.
Jason 3rd out with 15 seconds remaining in round 1.
Everyone steps down briefly to reposition for round 2.
Round 2 starts with 2 balls on the disk.
Michele out 4th quickly.
Neal out 5th.
Scot out 6th.
Cydney out 7th.
Aubry out 8th. 5 people gone quickly.
Everyone left - Nick, Julia, Tai - steps down as round 1 ends.
Round 3 starts with 3 balls on the disk.
Julia out 9th.
Tai out 10th.
Nick wins individual immunity!

Medical check-up:
Jeff and the medical team show up at camp to assess everyone's various infections.
Tai is checked first to see his thigh scrapes from climbing the tree in the first few days. He seems to be healing up fine.
Scot checked next. He has an infection on his inner right thigh. The medic decides they will just watch this one for now.
Aubry is up next. She also has an infection on her inner thigh. Her options are to start antibiotics or have it lanced. If it is lanced, it would be cut open, drained, and cleaned out. This would let the puss out but would leave a route for infection to go in. She ends up getting antibiotics for now.
Finally Neal is checked. The infection on his knee popped open earlier and doesn't look good. He also has one on his back. Neal is brought away from the group for further inspection. The spot on his back does not hurt and there is no concern for further damage if it gets worse. The medic is ok with that one for now. The spot on Neal's knee is more worrisome. If the infection goes into the joint it can ruin the joint in hours. The medic decides he has to pull Neal from the game to treat this injury and ensure saving the joint.
Neal is medically evacuated on day 19 and leaves with an immunity idol in his pocket. He will be the first member of the jury.

Tribal Council:
Due to the timing of events and the number of people left in the game, Neal's medical evacuation results in no tribal council for this episode. First time this has happened in years.

Keys to Survivor Kaoh Rong Episode 6

Placements for eliminated players thus far:
18th Darnell - Brawn (voted out Episode 1, Day 3)
17th Jenny - Brawn (voted out Episode 2, Day 6)
16th Liz - Brains (voted out Episode 3, Day 8)
15th Caleb - Beauty (medical evacuation after Reward challenge, Day 9)
14th Alecia - Brawn (voted out Episode 4, Day 11)
13th Anna - Beauty (voted out Episode 5, Day 13)

Tribes as of the beginning of Episode 5:
Chan Loh (Blue tribe - former Brains tribe color)
Cydney - former Brawn
Debbie - former Brains
Jason - former Brawn (has hidden immunity idol)
Michele - former Beauty
Neal - former Brains (has hidden immunity idol)
Nick - former Beauty

Gondol (Yellow tribe - former Beauty tribe color)
Aubry - former Brains
Joe - former Brains
Julia - former Beauty (joining after 2 days alone)
Peter - former Brains
Scot - former Brawn
Tai - former Beauty (has hidden immunity idol)

Julia returns from Brawn beach and joins Gondol at the reward challenge.

Reward Challenge:
One person releases buoys from underwater. That person and 3 others get all the buoys to shore and into a rack. Then 2 people shoot them into a basket. First tribe to get 10 buoys in the basket wins reward.

Reward is a Survivor Picnic. Breads, meats, cheeses, drinks.

Details on order of challenge and who did what:
Diving: Aubry (Gondol), Michele (Chan Loh)
First to get to dive point: Michele
First to release buoys: Aubry (by a large margin)
First to get all buoys to shore: Gondol
Shooters: Nick/Cydney (does not shoot), Scot/Joe (does not shoot)
Shot order (shown here as streaks when possible, for dramatic effect):
Scot, Scot, Nick, Scot (Gondol leads 3-1)
Nick, Nick, Nick, Nick (Chan Loh leads 5-3)
Scot, Nick, Nick, Scot, Scot, Nick (Chan Loh leads 8-6)
Scot, Scot, Scot, Scot
Gondol wins.

Immunity Challenge:
This one is all about teamwork. Get through a series of obstacles as a team. Two people knock blocks off of an overhead net. Then everyone stacks the blocks vertically. First team to stack them all wins. There are 2 sizes of blocks - about 8" and 6" cubes.

Details on order of challenge and who did what:
First team over a log ladder: Chan Loh
First team over a 5 foot high rolling barrel: Chan Loh
First team over a net ramp (start on high side that is ~9 feet tall): Chan Loh
First team to knock all of the blocks off the overhead net: Gondol
Gondol stacks the small blocks first, then tries to transition that stack up while larger ones are placed below.
Debbie on Nick's shoulders while Gondol's small stack falls.
Joe is hit in the head with a falling block.
Tai on Scott's shoulders as Debbie drops the top 3 blocks.
Chan Loh wins immunity, finishing about 5 seconds before Gondol.

Scrambling:
Peter had been plotting against Aubry & Joe, but after the challenge Joe & Peter make up and decide to target Julia. Peter then tells Scot this plan. Julia & Tai then try to sway Aubry to work with them to vote out Peter by telling her that he had talked about voting Aubry out. Aubry asks if Joe will switch the vote to Peter, but he is against this idea. Without an idea about if Aubry is with them, Tai & Scot think they may have to vote for Julia.

Tribal Council:
Lots of side talking while others are answering questions. Scot tells Julia "Original Plan". Aubry seems confused or conflicted.
4-2 (Peter, Julia). Aubry had voted for Julia, but crossed it out and changed it to Peter.

Next Week:
The tribes merge together at Gondol beach. There will be 4 original Brains, 4 original Beauty, and 3 original Brawn.

Keys to Survivor Kaoh Rong Episode 5

Placements for eliminated players thus far:
18th Darnell - Brawn (voted out Episode 1, Day 3)
17th Jenny - Brawn (voted out Episode 2, Day 6)
16th Liz - Brains (voted out Episode 3, Day 8)
15th Caleb - Beauty (medical evacuation after Reward challenge, Day 9)
14th Alecia - Brawn (voted out Episode 4, Day 11)

Tribes as of the beginning of Episode 5:
Brains (Chan Loh)
Aubry - Social Media Marketer
Debbie - Waitress, Chemist, Civil Air Patrol Capt.
Joe - Former FBI Agent
Neal - Ice Cream Entreprenuer
Peter - ER Doctor

Brawn (To Tang)
Cydney - Body Builder
Jason - Bounty Hunter (has hidden immunity idol)
Scot - Former NBA player

Beauty (Gondol)
Anna - Pro Poker Player
Julia - College Student
Michele - Bartender
Nick - Personal Trainer
Tai - Gardener (has hidden immunity idol)

Neal finds the hidden immunity idol from near the Brains camp, so now all 3 idols have been located.

Tribe switch (in lieu of Reward Challenge):
The original plan was to split 14 people into 2 tribes of 7 people. Due to Caleb's medical evacuation, there will be 2 tribes of 6 and one person who has to go back to the Brawn beach. This person will be alone, will not go to the immunity challenge or tribal council, but will not get to strategize with anyone. They will join the team that votes someone out at tribal council.

New Tribes:
Chan Loh (Blue tribe - former Brains tribe color)
Cydney - former Brawn
Debbie - former Brains
Jason - former Brawn
Michele - former Beauty
Neal - former Brains
Nick - former Beauty
This tribe has 2 members from each of the original tribes.

Gondol (Yellow tribe - former Beauty tribe color)
Anna - former Beauty
Aubry - former Brains
Joe - former Brains
Peter - former Brains
Scot - former Brawn
Tai - former Beauty
This tribe has 1 original Brawn, 2 original Beauty, and 3 original Brains.

To Tang (Red 'tribe' - former Brawn tribe color)
Julia - former Beauty

Both main teams have discussions about voting out a former Beauty team member to prevent them from having the numbers advantage after Julia comes back in.

Immunity Challenge:
Two people swim out and retrieve a net of fish puzzle pieces. Two other people will untie the fish and hook them onto a horizontal pole and transport the pole to the puzzle platform. The remaining two tribe members will attempt to complete a fish puzzle (sardines in a can) using the 14 pieces.
Details on order of challenge and who did what:
Swimmers: Chan Loh - Jason/Nick, Gondol - Aubry/Scot
First team to arrive at net: Jason/Nick
First team to get back to shore: Aubry/Scot (Scot did just about all the work on this stage)
Untie fish and put them on hooks: Chan Loh - Cydney/Michele, Gondol - Joe/Tai
First to put all fish on hooks: Cydney/Michele (by a few seconds)
First to get fish to puzzle platform: Joe/Tai
Puzzle workers: Chan Loh - Debbie/Neal, Gondol - Anna/Peter
First to complete the puzzle: Debbie/Neal (by far)
Chan Loh wins immunity.
Gondol will vote someone out then gain Julia.

Tai informs Anna & Scot that he has a hidden immunity idol.

Tribal Council:
5-1 (Anna, Peter)
Anna leaves in 13th place.
Julia will join the Gondol tribe in the next episode.

Keys to Survivor Kaoh Rong Episode 4

Placements for eliminated players thus far:
18th Darnell - Brawn (voted out Episode 1)
17th Jenny - Brawn (voted out Episode 2)
16th Liz - Brains (voted out Episode 3)

Tribes as of the beginning of Episode 4:
Brains (Chan Loh)
Aubry - Social Media Marketer
Debbie - Waitress, Chemist, Civil Air Patrol Capt.
Joe - Former FBI Agent
Neal - Ice Cream Entreprenuer
Peter - ER Doctor

Brawn (To Tang)
Alecia - Real Estate Agent
Cydney - Body Builder
Jason - Bounty Hunter (has hidden immunity idol)
Scot - Former NBA player

Beauty (Gondol)
Anna - Pro Poker Player
Caleb - Army Veteran & Big Brother contestant
Julia - College Student
Michele - Bartender
Nick - Personal Trainer
Tai - Gardener (has hidden immunity idol)

Reward Challenge:
Race through obstacles: dig under log to advance, dig up 3 bags to retrieve balls, roll the balls up into goals (skee-ball). Coffee and spices for 1st place. Salt/Pepper for 2nd place.

Details on order of challenge and who did what:
Sitting out this challenge: Anna/Julia (Beauty); Neil (Brains);  Note that you can't sit the same people in back-to-back challenges.
Arrive at the log: Brawn, Beauty, Brains
All have passed under log: Brawn, Brain, Beauty
Bags being dug up, with order they were found:
Dig up bag #1: 1-Brawn (Scot), 2-Beauty (Tai), 4-Brains (Peter)
Dig up bag #2: 3-Brawn (Scot), 5-Brains (Debbie), 7-Beauty (Caleb)
Dig up bag #3: 6-Brains (Aubry), 8-Beauty (Nick), 9-Brawn (Jason)
At 2-1-1, Brawn leading, skip ahead - elapsed time 45 minutes before more bags are found.
All 6 balls rolled into goals for the win: Brains (before other tribes start: Peter & Debbie), Beauty (mostly Caleb, Brawn eventually starts and gets 3 into the goals from Scot & Jason)

Medical aftermath:
Joe calls Jeff to get medical for Debbie - heat stroke - after they are done with challenge.
Cold water is poured on Debbie's head.
After Beauty finishes, Caleb walks over near some trees and collapses and Cydney can't stand up.
Beauty calls medical over to help Caleb. Cold water poured over him while he has trouble breathing.
Jeff calls for someone to bring a reflector to help fan Caleb.
While they tend to Caleb, Cydney stands up but soon lays down in the shade near Caleb and starts shivering.
"Alright, everybody on the crew is essential personnel. Umbrellas. Coolers. Water. Find a spot to help." - Jeff Probst
Caleb gets an oxygen mask and keeps getting water poured on him. He has trouble responding to people, but can nod.
Medical calls for 2 bags of saline to give Caleb some cold IV fluids. Blood pressure of 146/94. Ice is placed in his armpits.
Cydney has ice on her and Jason is helping out.
Medical calls for a helicopter evac for Caleb.
Medical deems Cydney ok as she continues to receive cold water poured on her.
Jeff informs Caleb that he is not quitting, but medical is pulling him from the game.
Jeff informs the Beauty tribe that Caleb is getting pulled from the game and evacuated. The helicopter arrives while they are talking.
Note on screen before next commercial break: Caleb has fully recovered, is 100% healthy... and hopes to play again.

Immunity Challenge:
Two people race into the woods, go up a wooden ladder, and untie and bring back 3 rope puzzle pieces. Two people race into the water to dive down, untie, and bring back 3 more rope puzzle pieces. Once all pieces are back, two people put together a 9-piece snake puzzle.

Details on order of challenge and who did what:
Sitting out this challenge: Tai (Beauty), Joe (Brains)
Arrive at the ladder: Alecia/Cydney (Brawn), Anna/Julia (Beauty), Debbie/Peter (Brains)
Back with 1st set of rope pieces: Brawn, Beauty, Brains
Who swam out to dive for pieces: Jason/Scot, Michele/Nick, Aubry/Neil
Back with 2nd set of rope pieces: Beauty, Brawn, Brains
Start completing the puzzle: Anna/Julia (Beauty), Alecia/Cydney (Brawn), Debbie/Neil (Brains)
Peter goes in for Debbie.
Nick goes in for Anna after Brains finish.
Complete the puzzle to win the challenge: Brains, Beauty

Brawn almost does tribal right after the other tribes leave, but Alecia won't agree.
"Your on the Brawn tribe because you don't take any lip from anybody at any time for any reason." - Jeff Probst to Alecia at tribal.

Tribal council: 3-1 (Alecia, Scot) in the most predictable vote in many seasons.

Scenes from the next episode indicate that there will be a tribal switch.  "Everybody drop your buffs. We are switching things up."

Keys to Survivor Kaoh Rong Episode 3

Placements for eliminated players thus far:
18th Darnell - Brawn (voted out Episode 1)
17th Jenny - Brawn (voted out Episode 2)

Tribes as of the beginning of Episode 3:
Brains (Chan Loh)
Aubry - Social Media Marketer
Debbie - Waitress, Chemist, Civil Air Patrol Capt.
Joe - Former FBI Agent
Liz - Quantitative Strategist
Neal - Ice Cream Entreprenuer
Peter - ER Doctor

Brawn (To Tang)
Alecia - Real Estate Agent
Cydney - Body Builder
Jason - Bounty Hunter
Scot - Former NBA player

Beauty (Gondol)
Anna - Pro Poker Player
Caleb - Army Veteran & Big Brother contestant
Julia - College Student
Michele - Bartender
Nick - Personal Trainer
Tai - Gardener

Tai makes a tool to retrieve the key to the idol. He gets the idol and finds out that this season it can be combined with another idol to form a super idol that can be used after votes are read.
Alecia finds clue to the idol. She tells Cydney and they dig to find it. Cydney finds stuff but doesn't tell Alecia. They go back to camp after Jason finds them digging. Cydney secretly tells the boys what they found while Alecia is in the ocean but tells Alecia that Jason just went back because he saw them. Jason finds the clue to the key. The boys make a tool, get the key out and grab it before Alecia can grab it. Jason ends up with the idol.

Reward/Immunity Challenge:
Jump off a platform in the water, swim to boat, bring 3 bags of rice through a small hole in an obstacle and across a balance beam to the beach. Get 3 balls out of the bag of rice. Maneuver the balls up an inclined board with holes (looks like swiss cheese) into 3 goals at the top, all while balancing on a beam.
Reward is either comfort items or their personal emotional items for inspiration. 1st tribe gets choice, 2nd tribe gets what is left.
Details on order of challenge and who did what:
Sitting out this challenge: Anna/Michele (Beauty); Aubry/Joe (Brains)
Get the rice bags out of the boat: Beauty, Brawn, Brains
Rice bags all pushed through the obstacle: Beauty, Brawn, Brains
Rice bags all across the balance beam: Beauty, Brawn, Brains
Find all 3 balls: Beauty, Brawn, Brains
Ball 1 in goal: Julia (Beauty), Cydney drops twice (Brawn) then switches out, Liz (Brains), Jason (Brawn)
Ball 2 in goal: Tai (Beauty), Peter (Brains), Scot (Brawn)
Ball 3 in goal for the win: Caleb (Beauty), Cydney (Brawn) 1-3 seconds before Debbie. Cydney got massive verbal help from Jason.
Beauty chooses the comfort items.
Brawn gets their emotional items.

Peter/Liz are a pair and are targeting Neil.
Aubry/Neil are a pair.
Debbie/Joe are a pair and are targeting either Liz or Peter.

Tribal council: 2-2-2 (Peter,Liz,Aubry). Revote: 4-0 (Liz). #Blindside

Keys to Survivor Kaoh Rong Episode 2

Placements for eliminated players thus far:
18th Darnell - Brawn (voted out Episode 1)

Tribes as of the beginning of Episode 2:
Brains (Chan Loh)
Aubry - Social Media Marketer
Debbie - Waitress, Chemist, Civil Air Patrol Capt.
Joe - Former FBI Agent
Liz - Quantitative Strategist
Neal - Ice Cream Entreprenuer
Peter - ER Doctor

Brawn (To Tang)
Alecia - Real Estate Agent
Cydney - Body Builder
Jason - Bounty Hunter
Jenny - Conractor
Scot - Former NBA player

Beauty (Gondol)
Anna - Pro Poker Player
Caleb - Army Veteran & Big Brother contestant
Julia - College Student
Michele - Bartender
Nick - Personal Trainer
Tai - Gardener

Alecia starts fire after trying for roughly 5 hours when everyone else had given up trying.
Tai finds the locked idol, the clue to get the key, and tries to climb the tree but just rips up his feet.

Reward/Immunity Challenge:
Race up a river to get a log, carry/float it through obstacles. Untie a ball that stays tethered and use it to knock down 2 targets with a giant slingshot. Reward is fishing gear (less gear for team 2).
Details on order of challenge and who did what:
Sitting out this challenge: Debbie (Brains), Julia (Beauty)
Get the log untied: Brawn, Beauty, Brains
Through obstacles: Beauty, Brawn, Brains
Firing the ball at targets: Scot (Brawn), Peter (Brains), Caleb (Beauty)
1st target: Beauty, Brains, Brawn
2nd target for the win: Beauty, Brains

Alecia & Jenny discuss girls alliance. Both are responsible.
Jenny says the best thing you can do in this game is make "getting out the strongest players now while you still can". Then Alecia points out the potential all-girls alliance.
Jenny mentions this at tribal and moves the target to herself.

Tribal council: 3-2 (Jenny, Alecia) (2 minority votes were Jenny & Scot)

Keys to Survivor Kaoh Rong Episode 1

Welcome to Keyes2Survivor Kaoh Rong.  Let me know what you think about the format for this season's blog.

Tribes as of the beginning of Episode 1:
Brains (Chan Loh)
Aubry - Social Media Marketer
Debbie - Waitress, Chemist, Civil Air Patrol Capt.
Joe - Former FBI Agent
Liz - Quantitative Strategist
Neal - Ice Cream Entreprenuer
Peter - ER Doctor

Brawn (To Tang)
Alecia - Real Estate Agent
Cydney - Body Builder
Darnell - Postal Worker
Jason - Bounty Hunter
Jenny - Conractor
Scot - Former NBA player

Beauty (Gondol)
Anna - Pro Poker Player
Caleb - Army Veteran & Big Brother contestant
Julia - College Student
Michele - Bartender
Nick - Personal Trainer
Tai - Gardener

Reward/Immunity Challenge:
Dive down to get paddles, get to shore, add wheels to your boat, pull it up shore, choose puzzle or dexterity, complete your choice.
Details on order of challenge and who did what:
Who were the divers: Brawn - Darnell (then Jenny, then Jason); Brains - Aubry; Beauty - Michele (then Caleb, then Tai)
Darnell lost the dive mask in the beginning.
Start paddling back: Beauty, Brains, Brawn
Boat in cradle on shore: Beauty, Brains, Brawn
Pulling the boat up shore: Brains, Brawn, Beauty
Who was pulling on the rope attached to the boat: Brains - Aubry/Debbie; Brawn - Alecia/Jenny; Beauty - Julia/Michele
Boat in final location and choice made: Brains, Brawn, Beauty (all 3 chose puzzle)
Who solved the puzzle: Beauty - Anna/Julia; Brains - Alecia/Jenny (Scot replaced Alecia); Brains - Aubry/Liz
Alecia appeared to be unhelpful with the puzzle.
Win: Brains, Beauty (over Brawn by 1 piece)

Tribal council: 3-3 (Darnell, Alecia). Revote: 4-0 (Darnell)

Survivor Christmas 2015

For Christmas this year my Mom & Dad provided one of the best gifts a Survivor fan and hopeful contestant could get.  A customized Survivor immunity idol hunt.  This post serves to document the awesomeness of this gift as well as allowing others to enjoy the process and maybe be inspired to create such an event for a loved one.
Hover over pictures for alt-text that helps tell the story.

The Reveal
It all started with a non-suspicious present.

I open it and see that there is a message written on a piece of wood.  This isn't necessarily unusual for my family.  Occasionally a gift will contain a message telling you to look somewhere else for the real gift, often because it is too big to wrap or the wrapped gift would look too obviously what it is and would ruin a surprise.  Upon closer inspection though, I realized this gift was different.  I had stumbled upon a clue to a hidden immunity idol!
































The Hunt (Part 1)
Others at the table ask me what my gift is.  I coyly explain that it's 'nothing'.  I don't want to share my immunity idol clue with others.  The block of wood gets hidden away in my pocket, to great laughter from others.

Now, what in this house is green?  As it turns out, lots of stuff.  I check some plants in the two nearest rooms.  There's an antique chair that was painted green, maybe something is taped under the seat?  The Christmas tree - we decorated it yesterday, but maybe my parents added something overnight?  I start off with 3 strikes.  Folks, this really is harder than they sometimes make it look on TV.

There's a book of poems written by my Grandmother and it's cover is green.  Nothing.  Another room has a waste basket that is green.  Look, there are several things in the bottom and this one looks like handwritten notes.  Shoot, it's old notes my mom didn't need anymore - actual trash - who would put that there?

Curtains!  There are several rooms with dark green curtains.  I better look behind them.  Nothing in room one, or two, or three.  Well, that seemed like a great idea.  Hey, there's a gym bag and the zipper isn't entirely closed and you can see a rolled up towel inside - this has to be it.  Or not.  It was actually just a towel in a gym bag.  About now I realize that clues and idols may be easier to find on a Survivor island because there is less human-related stuff.

Ok, so some of the family is leaving now and will have to wait for stories later on how this turns out.  I notice that the spare bathroom might have light green wall paint.  I check inside and look for anything suspicious, only to realize that there are green curtains in here too.  I should check to see if I was on the right track earlier.






























The Hunt (Part 2)
On a piece of birch bark inside part of a paper towel tube, stuffed inside the tag on the back of the curtain, I find clue #2.


Fire-making skill.  This clue should be easier than the last one.  There's a wood stove right here in the living room and another in the basement.  Surely something should stick out in those locations.  I look around the closer wood stove.  Nothing looks amiss.  I check the box that contains newspapers to help start fires.  Nothing out-of-place there.  I check the shelf above the stove and look in and around several knick-knacks.  I check the shovel and poker to see if something has been attached to either one.  Nothing yet.  So I check in the basement.  There's nothing notable near that wood stove either.  Maybe in this pile of kindling or near the axe?  Oh gosh, it better not be in some hollow between pieces of wood in the giant stack along the far wall.  No, it can't be there - I'm not even going to spend time looking there.  Let me try upstairs again.

I search around the wood stove in the living room a bit more.  It can't be inside because dad has been working on a fire.  Mom figures out which clue I'm working on and gives a verbal clue that I'm in the right area, but might need to expand my search.  Ok, so the TV is next to the stove.  I don't see anything under or on top of the stand.  Nothing is under the DVD player or near the remotes.  I check behind the TV but only see what looks like one of my dad's shop rags having been tied to the cords with a twist tie to hold them together.  That's weird, but not unlike my parents.  I check all around the rest of this room - the closet, under the rug, between and under couch cushions, all to no avail.

I suspend my search until later and eventually notice my mom looking behind the stove.  That can't be right, I looked back there.  Then she repositions and looks behind the TV.  That can't be either, I looked back there.  Mom walks away.  I immediately go to inspect.  Certainly if you see one of the producers giving away a location, or a cameraman pointing towards something that looks mundane, you must investigate.  The darn shop rag wasn't a shop rag and it wasn't holding cables together.  It was dryer lint being held together with some small strands of birch bark.



I'd like the record to show that behind the TV isn't "in a place of fire-making skill."  One really won't want fire back there and if there was, it would likely be accidental, not skill based.  I might have made the connection a little faster if the clue had read "near a place of fire-making skill."

Mom assures me that this was all the dryer lint she could collect and that I won't have to deal with any more on this journey.

The Hunt (Part 3)
On another piece of birch bark, held tight by a twist tie and masked by this darn piece of dryer lint, is clue #3.


So I have to figure out what rack this might be talking about.  I immediately go to look in the drawer under the oven.  The oven has racks to bake things, so the drawer seems like the perfect low place.  A fairly extensive search through the items in that drawer comes up fruitless.  In the past there have been some basket-like shelves where they keep potatoes and onions - maybe that could be described as a rack.  I head to where I think this is located.  I'm looking at all the drawers in the kitchen on my way there and realize that any one of these drawers could hold cookie cooling racks or turkey baking racks.  I don't know where any of the kitchen stuff is in this house.  I'm going to have to check every bottom drawer later.  But the last drawer draws my attention.  It is the full height up to the counter, so the handle is easier to reach.  I might as well open that one to see what's in there.





















Spice rack!  This could be it.  Bottom shelf - look - more dryer lint!  Despite the promise, I inspect this and it looks like my search is finally complete.




Immunity Idol and Associated Prizes
Sure enough, under this dryer lint was a plastic package with a makeshift hidden immunity idol made of power towel tube.

Behind the idol, I found the items that could help me with a skill I may lack.  There were 2 slide puzzles for me to practice solving in preparation for my future contestantship.


Certainly, I can't find slide puzzles and just wait to solve them later.  I have to dive right in, use whatever skill I have, learn some tricks as I go, and get these puppies solved.  Roughly 20 minutes later, both puzzles are solved and I'm that much closer to challenge dominance.


So that was my Survivor Christmas 2015 immunity idol hunt.  It was exciting, frustrating, and fun, much the way I imagine being a Survivor Contestant would be.  Although, I was well fed and well rested, so that might have helped the experience.
My mom was probably just as entertained watching me search as I was entertained searching.
I hope you enjoyed reading about this quest.  If you have someone in your life who would enjoy this kind of adventure, consider making your own version of this idol search.