CHENNAI, INDIA
"This ithn't difficult thuff, Thara"
With the infamous broken hydraulic leg as a point of contention, Peter & Sarah, whose relationship has continued to deteriorate, still manage to claim a second victory as Teams travel to Chennai, India. Airport maneuvers make all the difference as coal miner and wife David & Mary land last in India and never make up the deficit. After receiving the good news from Phil that this is a non-elimination leg, they learn that they would now be "marked for elimination", a new twist in the race.
Departing in first place at 1:47am, dating couple Rob & Kimberly open their clue instructing them to fly over 3,000 miles to Chennai, India. First, Teams need to travel by train to Hanoi and purchase tickets to Chennai at a travel agency as Vietnam regulations forbid the buying of tickets at the airport.
Pulling into Hai Phong Train Station, Rob & Kimberly wait outside the closed doors as the remaining six Teams, including a thrilled last place Dustin & Kandice, descend upon the station for the first train to Hanoi at 5:00am. With all of the Teams back together again, strategies to get any advantage of a better flight begin to emerge. Still working strong as "the Back Pack", brothers Erwin & Godwin, coal miner and wife David & Mary, and single moms Lyn & Karlyn huddle over a map of Hanoi to determine which travel agencies they should visit first.After overhearing their conversation, Peter sneaks over to beauty queens Dustin & Kandice to forge a tentative alliance in securing tickets to Hanoi by offering use of his map in return for future assistance. Wary of Peter's motivation, Dustin remarks, "I don't trust Peter, but I know that when his best interest is involved, we're probably going to be okay."
Walking back to his seat, Peter offers to tell 'the Back Pack where to find the closest travel agency, but, when they don't respond, he doesn't give up the information. Irritated, Lyn retorts, "Tell me and quit telling me you'll tell me. I'm not going to beg you for nothing because I don't need you for anything. Don't keep playing me to be stupid. I'm not stupid."
Deciding to up the ante in tactical maneuvers, Godwin pulls out a fake cell phone and begins making pretend phone calls to book tickets to Chennai, remarking, "I want to get in the heads of the other players, make them a little worried." Eavesdropping, Peter takes Godwin's bait and scurries over to the beauty queens to inform them of the back pack's latest endeavors. However, as he sits laughing at Peter's panicked moves, Godwin's plan backfires when Peter & Sarah and Dustin & Kandice borrow a woman's real cell phone and secure tickets.
After arriving by train to Hanoi, the seven Teams scatter throughout the city in hopes of finding the fastest flight to Chennai. Working together, beauty queens Dustin & Kandice and friends Peter & Sarah pick up tickets that will get them into Chennai at 11:00am. After slow taxis force the 'Back Pack' to work independently, single mothers Lyn & Karlyn and coal miner and wife David & Mary don't fare too well, booking tickets landing at 12:00pm even after incessantly asking if there was anything sooner. The search by their alliance mates, Erwin & Godwin, ends more successfully as they secure seats on a flight landing at 9:20am, over two hours ahead of the other Teams. While they have to sweat it out waiting for their tickets to arrive by messenger, models Tyler & James and dating couple Rob & Kimberly, working together, also booking tickets on the 9:20am flight.At Hanoi Noi Bai Airport, the 'Back Pack' form once again and the Cho brothers tell their alliance members about their significantly earlier flight landing at 9:20am. Walking over to the Cathay Pacific offices, Lyn & Karlyn and David & Mary snag confirmed seats to Delhi, but can only muster reservations all the way through to Chennai. Knowing they are taking a gamble, they opt to join Erwin & Godwin in hopes of getting further away from Dustin & Kandice and Peter & Sarah, who spend their time making fun of Mary's hurt ankle. David remarks, "As long as we get on the last connecting flight from New Delhi to Chennai, then we're right with our alliance. Hopefully, we can be one, two, three and just shake up this whole race."
Landing in the connecting city of Bangkok, friends Peter & Sarah and beauty queens Dustin & Kandice part ways and independently discover a much earlier flight landing in Chennai at 7:50am. While in the process of booking their tickets, Peter walks over to the beauty queens who are very hesitant to offer any information to him. After learning they got the same flight, Peter remarks, "It's too bad the girls didn't share a little bit of information. We had every intention of showing them the same flight, so I'm just a little disappointed in them." Sick of Peter's meddling, Dustin tells Kandice, "We are not working together on that one. All bets are off now."
Meanwhile, in Delhi, the initial relief in catching up to Tyler & James and Rob & Kimberly turns to despair for Lyn & Karlyn and David & Mary when no tickets remain on the connecting flight to Chennai. After watching their alliance members Erwin & Godwin join the other two Teams in boarding, Lyn & Karlyn catch a huge break when two spots opened up for them. While not getting on the earlier flight, David & Mary don't panic, managing to secure tickets on Air Sahara landing at 10:00am.
Landing in Chennai together, Dustin & Kandice and Peter & Sarah race to the bus station in anticipation of a 40-mile trip by bus to the town of Mamallapuram in search of Vallavar Arts & Crafts. On the ride over, the beauty queens cover their driver's mouth to prevent him from telling Peter & Sarah's driver directions to the station. The gesture pays off, as the beauty queens get on the first bus out of Chennai after Peter & Sarah's driver becomes momentarily lost, putting them one bus behind. Later Sarah remarks, "Being beauty pageant queens, you have to be competitive and fierce and I think that streak is definitely showing here."
Landing at 9:20am, brothers Erwin & Godwin and single moms Lyn & Karlyn get a quick jump out of the airport to board the third bus to Mamallapuram with dating couple Rob & Kimberly on the fourth bus out and frustrated models Tyler & James get seats on the fifth bus after their taxi driver gets lost. Unaware of their last place position, coal miner and wife David & Mary land in Chennai at 10:00am and board their bus believing they are still ahead of Dustin & Kandice and Peter & Sarah.
“I ain’t wrestlin’ no crocs, David”
Arriving in Mamallapuram, Dustin & Kandice dart over to Vallavar Arts & Crafts only to find that it doesn't open until 11:30am which allows Peter & Sarah to catch back up, quipping, "Nice job on the taxi." When the doors open at 11:30am, the two Teams rip open their Detour clue. They have to choose between Wild Things and Wild Rice. In Wild Things, teams have to make their way nine miles to the Madras Crocodile Bank, locate pit 16 and help two wranglers secure one large marsh crocodile and transport it to a new pit. In Wild Rice, Teams make their way 200 yards to the Sri Sthala Sayana Perumal Temple and choose an outline of a traditional design that was drawn on the temple floor. Using a picture for reference, they have to gather specially colored powder made from rice and fill in the pattern so that it matches the picture.
Getting a jump on the beauty queens, whose taxi gets a flat tire, friends Peter & Sarah tame their wild crocodile long enough to rope it up and transport it even as Sarah still struggle with her hydraulic knee. Opening their clue, the pair learns they have to take a bus back to Chennai and find the Karthik Driving School. While Peter runs out of the crocodile bank to the bus stop shouting for Sarah to follow, Sarah's knee slows her down causing them to miss the first bus by moments and allowing the beauty queens to catch up to them. Crying, Sarah told Peter, "I can't go faster." Peter's response to her crying is a promise not to prod her forward anymore on the race because "there's no in-between" with him. When Sarah suggests that Peter "work on that," he replies he likes the way he is and that the race is about having fun. Not missing a beat, Sarah retorts, "I'm not really having fun with you, Peter."
“You’re not having fun, Thara?”
Arriving in Mamallapuram, the Cho brothers and Lyn & Karlyn initially choose to fill in the pattern with colored rice at the temple, but soon discover that the tedious task in the burning sun will take too much time. During the two Teams' indecision on Detour tasks, dating couple Rob & Kimberly passed them to the crocodile pit, but all three share the same bus back to Chennai much to Rob's chagrin.
Back in Chennai, friends Peter & Sarah arrive at the driving school to encounter a Roadblock where one team member has to sit through a driver's education class and then navigate through India's notoriously frenzied streets to pass a driving test while driving on the left side of the road.
Taking the wheel for his Team, Peter gasps at the chaotic streets, but ultimately finishes the task, earning a driver's license and the clue that directed him and Sarah to drive the same car with the instructor to the Pit Stop at the Chettinad House, a royal palace completed in 1934. After their tempestuous day, friends Peter & Sarah step onto the mat in first place where Phil informs the pair they have each won a home gym system complete with elliptical trainer and standing air bike.
With the other Teams completing their driving exams and checking in, models Tyler & James and coal miner and wife David & Mary battle it out for last place as both Teams opt for the tedious pattern filling task. While the models had a sizable lead, they made a critical mistake in filling circles with the wrong color. However, they recover enough to complete it ahead of the coal miner and wife to catch a bus back to Chennai for a sixth place finish. The stunned duo told Phil their poor showing was "very humbling, but maybe something we needed."
"We shoulda wrestled them crocs, David"
Stepping onto the mat in last place, coal miner and wife David & Mary expect to hear the bad news from Phil, but he informs the thrilled pair that this was the first non-elimination leg. In a new twist in the race, David & Mary do not get their money and possessions taken from them. Instead, on the next leg, they will be marked for elimination. This means, if they did not finish in first place, they will incur a 30-minute penalty when other Teams could check in possibly causing them to be eliminated. On the daunting trial ahead of them, Mary comments, "The challenge he gave us to have to be first is ridiculously hard when we got the competition we got, but anytime I want to give up, I just think of my kids because that's the only reason I left them is to come here and to win a million dollars."
