- Twelve teams of two people line up at the start on the Los Angeles River, but in a surprise twist, the team that fails to complete the first task is eliminated without leaving the country. The eleven remaining teams travel to Tokyo, Japan, where one person from each team becomes a Japanese game show contestant at the Road Block, then to Cái Bè, Vietnam, where they have to face mud, sweat and tears as they take part in a local farmer's festival.—Allister Coots
- We begin by meeting our 12 teams in the L.A. River:
Brian & Ericka have been married for two years - Ericka is a former Miss America. Lance & Keri and an engaged couple from Massachusetts - he is a trial attorney. Maria & Tiffany are professional poker players. Zev & Justin are best friends from L.A. - Zev has Asperger syndrome. Mika & Canaan are a super-religious southern couple that just started dating. "Flight Time" & "Big Easy" are teammates on the Harlem Globetrotters. Sam & Dan are brothers who are both gay. Gary & Matt are a father-and-son team from Montana. Eric & Lisa are married yoga instructors. Garrett and Jessica have been dating on-and-off. Marcy & Ron are a middle aged couple that have been dating a year. Meghan & Cheyne are dating.
Phil greets everyone in the river bed and tells them the first team to cross the finish line after 12 legs will get $1 million. There is a twist this year: There is a huge wall of license plates in front of them. 11 of the plates are from the region of Tokyo where the race will begin. The team which does not find a plate is eliminated before even beginning. The clue features a symbol from the region and several teams figure it out right away. Ultimately it comes down to Eric & Lisa and Lance & Keri. Lance & Keri grab the last plate and the yoga instructors are gonzo.
The first six teams to find the plates get a half hour advantage over the other five on the departure time of their flight to Japan. Maria & Tiffany are lying to everyone, telling them they work for a non-profit organization in order to garner sympathy.
When the teams get to Tokyo they must find a television studio at the base of a tower. The second flight came in a half hour early, leveling the playing field. Sam & Dan tell us they plan to let the girls flirt with them as an advantage.
Once teams arrive at the studio they walk into a faux Japanese game show, the first Roadblock. The teams stand in front of a giant wheel. On the wheel are nine plates of sushi and two wasabi bombs (a roll filled with the super-spicy Japanese condiment). When teams get the sushi plate, they must eat it and wait. The teams who get the wasabi bomb have to finish it in two minutes and can move on with the leg.
Ron & Cheyne get the wasabi bombs first and take care of the challenge with little trouble. They are the first two teams to begin the next task, leading 20 tourists from the studio audience through the Shibuya scramble crossing to a shrine. Phil tells us the last team to check in with all of their tourists "may be eliminated."
Zev & Justin and Garrett & Jessica are the next two teams to get through their wasabi. Maria is next and has all kinds of trouble. She doesn't get it down in the allotted time and will have to eat again. Maria does it the second time and they are off.
Meghan & Cheyne are the first to reach the shrine. Phil greets them with an all-expense paid trip to Aspen and Vail.
Big Easy and Lance choke down their wasabi next. Zev & Justin are second to finish the leg. Gary and Brian get the wasabi next. Gary gets finished, but Brian is struggling mightily. Brian does not swallow in time and will have to eat again. Lance & Keri finish the leg in third. With only two teams left at the game show, Dan eats his wasabi with no trouble, leaving Brian & Ericka. Brian works on another wasabi bomb while Marcy & Ron and the Globetrotters finish the leg. Brian and Ericka catch-up quickly and get sixth. Maria & Tiffany realize that they have lost two of their tourists. Gary & Matt are seventh, followed by Garrett & Jessica and Sam & Dan.
Mika & Canaan arrive at the shrine but are short one tourist. They find the stray older woman and check-in tenth. Maria & Tiffany give up on finding their last two tourists and show up short-handed. To their relief Phil tells them it is a non-elimination challenge and they will only have an extra speed bump on the next leg.
The next leg takes everybody to Vietnam, and the teams begin by booking their flights to Ho Chi Minh City. Mika and Canaan tells us they are "sexually pure" in their relationship. Several teams get their tickets taken care of quickly, but through some wrangling in the terminal the rest of the teams are able to sneak their way onto the same flight. In the terminal a man recognizes Tiffany from televised poker and their real jobs are revealed.
In a drenched Ho Chi Minh, most of the teams get on a crowded bus headed for the Ben Tau Dock. The rest of the teams miss that bus, and sit on one scheduled to leave an hour later. They elect to pay their bus driver extra money to leave the terminal early. At the dock they realize that the boats don't leave until the following morning, forcing everyone to camp out at the docks.
The following morning the teams take sampans to a fruit farm. The challenge is to carry mud in baskets and cover the base of a fruit tree. At this point Maria & Tiffany get their solo Speedbump. They must make a traditional Vietnamese soup and serve it to the dock master. The teams begin arriving at the mud pits and get to work moving the nutrient-enriched mud over to the tree planters. Maria & Tiffany put the meal together and the dock master gives his thumbs up. They arrive at the farm well after the other teams have gotten started.
When Meghan & Cheyne finish first, Phil tells us the teams will now have to go back to the dock and walk to a field where they will find their next challenge. Teams begin finishing the mud task in rapid succession: Garrett & Jessica, Brian & Ericka, Gary & Matt, Flight Time & Big Easy, Sam & Dan, Marcy & Ron, Lance & Keri, Zev & Justin and Mika & Canaan.
On his way into the sampan Justin slips into the water and loses his clue. They have their driver turn around and find it on the edge of the water. Maria &Tiffany finish their mud challenge, leaving them and Zev & Justin pulling up the rear.
Phil tells us the next Roadblock involves duck herding. One team member has ten minutes to must use flags to lead a flock of ducks over a narrow walkway, back again and into a pen. If they are unable to finish the task in ten minutes, they have to give up the pen and wait for another one to become available.
With Meghan already working on her duck herding, Jessica arrives second and starts the challenge. Ericka arrives next, followed by Matt and Flight Time. Jessica is having lots of trouble, while Matt seems to move the ducks around easily. Meghan and Jessica's time runs out, as does Ericka's.
Sam & Dan are the first to complete the duck challenge. They now have to head on foot to a riverboat. Once again "the last person to check-in may be eliminated." Gary & Matt are the next to finish and head for the riverboat.. Flight Time is next to finish with the ducks, followed by Keri. Zev steps right up and handles the ducks well. Mika, Jessica and Ericka all strike out on their second attempt with the ducks
Sam & Dan have trouble with directions to the riverboat. Gary & Matt do not, and they are the first team to check-in. Their prize is a pair of kayaks. Gary & Matt take second, followed closely by the Globetrotters and Lance & Keri.
Zev & Justin and Maria & Tiffany finish the duck challenge. Mika & Canaan and Marcy & Ron are next to begin searching for the riverboat. This leaves Jessica and Ericka as the final two duck herders. Jessica's time expires and she storms off. Erickas time also runs out on attempt No. 3.
Zev & Justin finish the leg in fifth. Meghan & Cheyne are sixth. Maria & Tiffany are seventh, followed by Mika & Canaan and Marcy & Ron.
On her fourth attempt, Ericka gets the ducks herded only minutes ahead of Jessica. Brian & Ericka make it to the riverboat ahead of Garrett & Jessica, who are eliminated.
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