An unusual thought just occured to me last night:One of the principles of TAR is that the teams "have no idea where they are going", as if they are on some happy-go-lucky scavenger hunt around the world. (Of course CBS knows the racecourse, but our teams don't)
There is just one problem with "have no idea where they are going": Visas. No, not the credit card. Many nations require foreigners to apply for and obtain a visa, or permit to enter their nation. Said visas can be applied for by visiting embassies, but some nations do offer mail order, and normally they mark something in you passport and return it, so the contestant could see the markings in their passport. On TAR 1, the following 'host' nations require tourist visas: Zambia, India, and China. So far on TAR 2 Brazil requires a visa.
How can the teams NOT know which nations they will be visiting, if they would have to apply for tourist visas to enter said nations. Now Zambia is a bit of an exception becuase the visa can be applied for at the Port of Entry. This leaves India and China that require Visas. (The other nations participate in a Visa Waiver program for short-term tourist visits, though I'm not sure bringing a media circus with you, while competing for money would quite fit the definition of Tourist.)
Then there are other countries that require the alien to prove that they intend to leave the country, and have sufficient means to do so. (A ticket on a recognized transportation source offen suffices). Since they don't know where they are going next, they won't have the neccesary entry documentation at the Port of Entry.
Then there are nations, that require other documents, such as an official invitation from a citizen of that nation, or for a tourist to work with a travel agency of that country. China falls into that category.
Of course we never get to see them survive Customs, so we don't know how they arrange this. (In fairness to CBS, photography is usually forbidden at border crossings)
Granted even if you knew you were going to China and India, that may not help much, but it would put you on the trail of books to purchase in the travel section of your favorite bookstore, and foreign language courses you may want to consider.
I mean this is CBS, a journalistic multi billion American company, but any self respecting nation is not going to ignore its own immigration and Visa regs. Wait, this is the TAR Sucks forum, allow me to rephrase:
"I get it slimy, manipulative CBS got around the Visa regulations by hoodwinking these nations into thinking that the free exposure they will have on television will payoff in tourist dollars to their nations. Never mind that it will really cause Americans at their WORST manners to run ragged through their nice calm peaceful communities, disrupting their citizens trying to live their lives while being so centered around the money they could care a less about the culture, tourists sites or anything else."
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