1. Keep Your Eyes Peeled: The teams assembled in the bed of the L.A. River, where Phil explained that the team that didn't find one of 11 license plates from their first destination, the Shinagawa district in Tokyo, wouldn't get to leave the gate. The key was noticing the area's symbol at the top of the clue and matching it to a plate. The married yoga instructors realized the hint too late and were out before they could leave home.
2. Don't Cry Over Missed Flights: Teams were bummed when they had to take a later flight, but it landed 30 minutes early. Plus, the producers seemed to fix more challenges than usual, so all teams were forced to regroup and start simultaneously.
3. Taste the Local Cuisine: On the set of a Japanese game show, the teams played sushi roulette, where one member had to eat whatever landed in their spot and hoped it wasn't the giant wasabi bomb. Big Easy said it "tasted like money" but Garrett practically cried. Brian almost heaved and Maria had to do it twice. But Mr. & Miss America were the last to leave with 20 tourists that needed to be guided through crowded streets to a nearby Shinto shrine.
4. Ask For Directions: All-Americans Meghan & Cheyne asked everyone they passed for directions and shouted out their final destination (a Shinto shrine) until someone escorted them to the pit stop, where placing first earned them a Colorado ski trip. Getting directions helped Zev and Justin overcome a slowpoke tourist with a broken shoe and Mr. & Miss America move up to sixth place.
5. Don't Lie: The poker players made up an elaborate bluff about working with the homeless to curry favor with the others, which is good strategy, unless your career could get you recognized. At the airport, a fan recognized Tiffany Hot Chips and gay brothers Sam and Dan overheard. It left a bad taste in their mouth but didn't stop them from aligning with the card sharks multiple times.
6. Pack Lots of Socks: The teams flew 200 miles to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, where the streets were heavily flooded. Zev unwisely waded sans shoes in the murky waters to the bus station, which was like asking for a medical discharge. He remained unscathed and later gave his jacket to a local who looked like he needed it. Karma points.
7. Pool Your Resources: In one of the smartest moves of AR history, the teams stuck on a later bus each contributed $100 to buy out the remaining seats in order to get an earlier departure. Unfortunately, the boat dock they were headed for in rural Cai Be was closed for the night so it didn't matter in the end.
8. Watch Your Step: At a fruit farm, teams had to shuttle mud from pits at the water's edge and cover a tree's root system. Cheyne and others kept getting stuck in the mud. Several racers fell on the slippery ramps or while getting on and off of boats, and when Justin fell, the next clue dropped and they had to go back and retrieve it.
9. Don't Feed the Animals: Herd them. One team member had to move 150 ducks back and forth across a course with the help of flags. The All-Americans were in first place again, but Meghan had trouble getting her ducks in a row.10. Watch Your Temper: The gay brothers finished the fowl play first, but failed to follow the fourth rule, allowing the Montana outdoorsmen (Gary and Matt) to win kayaks at the riverboat pit stop. Keeping calm got the Globetrotters there at the same time as the brothers. Zev didn't like the yelling so he tried a duck whisperer approach and knocked it out quickly. It came down to Canaan, who wanted to “rip Mika's head off” momentarily, Mr. & Miss America and couple Garrett and Jessica, who showed her fiery Latin temper in full force as she grunted and told him not to talk to her. In the end, it got the best of them and they were Philiminated.
Tell us: Did you like the starting line elimination twist? Favorite teams? Team you hate? Who will win?Monty Brinton/CBS (2)
