Amazing Race update – In the home of Genghis Khaaaaaaaannnnn!!!

Teams started out from the Great Wall of China on their way via bus to Outer Mongolia and the capital of Ulaan Bator. The first five teams are on the 12am bus while the remaining teams are on the the 2am bus. While everybody is waiting for the bus, Team 16 Tons (aka “Coalminer and wife”) reveal that they’ve never met an Asian person or a gay person before the Race. After the bus rides, all teams are bunched up on the train from China deep into Mongolia.

Everybody’s racing to a temple where they must view a ceremony. The cheerleaders arrive first to discover that performances are every ten minutes. After the ceremony, teams must take a Soviet Jeep to the village of Telelj where they will meet up with a Mongolian guide and ride some horses. Everybody seems to get lost but a surprising number of Mongolians and/or fellow travelers seem to speak English enough to help out. Team Rehab gets a flat tire and their jack appears to be broken; Rob & Kimberly stop but they can’t remove their jack so they drive on. Team Alabama slows down long enough to hear Tyler & James beg for help before they speed away. Fortunately, a kindly Mongolian stops and helps them change the tire.

Team Leg-Up arrives at the horses first and they don traditional hats for the ride. David & Mary get completely stuck in the mud up to the axles and the other teams ride ahead. Peter and Sarah arrive to the clue box first and it’s a Detour: Take it down or Fill it up. Teams may either break down a traditional Mongolian tent (a yurt?) or take a cattle cart to a river bed and fill up water cans. Most everybody chooses to collect water except for Team Leg Up and Team Gay Daughter decide to break down the tent. This seems a very bad choice as the tent needs to be packed up in a certain way on a camel and neither team can figure it out. Team Leg Up surrenders and decides to transport water but they get a yak that is completely crazy; Sarah starts to cry and Peter can’t figure out what to do. Team Blonde complete their Detour first but they lost their horse helmet and need to find it before they can continue on. Rob & Kimberly are in an abusive relationship. The cheerleaders arrive last and start breaking down the tent. The beauty queens, who would have left first, finally find their helmet and leave in eighth place. Team Gay Daughter is in first place on the drive to the next clue at the Hotel Mongolia.

More car trouble: Team Ergo’s jeep breaks down and a couple teams pass by before they get some help. The last two teams, Team Alabama and Team Rah-Rah try to leave the Detour but neither of their vehicles will start. They need to crank something in the front, like those cars from the Depression era. The cheerleaders turn their engine over leaving Team Alabama behind (karma, anyone?)

At the Hotel Mongolia, it’s a Roadblock: one team member must fire a flaming arrow into a pit 160 ft. away and ignite a torch. Peter of Team Leg Up gets it on his second shot and Peter & Sarah arrive at the mat as team #1. Just as a reminder, Sarah has an artificial leg so it’s pretty funny when Phil asks if they thought they’d be this far along after “only two legs.”

Everybody’s firing arrows through the sky but Team Alabama and Team Rah-Rah haven’t arrived yet, so one of these teams is going home. Rob is pestering Kimberly to the edge of tears again. David fails to exhibit much “Deliverance” acumen but eventually hits the target. Back at the clue box, Team Alabama arrives and they finish their task as Team #9. The cheerleaders arrive much later (it’s getting dark) and eventually give up after firing dozens of arrows.

Final standings:

#1 - Team Leg Up – Peter & Sarah – Prize: trip to Mexico
#2 - Team Rehab – Tyler & James
#3 - Team Gay Daughter – Duke & Lauren
#4 - Team Stonewall – Tom & Terry
#5 - Team Blonde – Dustin & Kandace
#6 - Team Bicker – Rob & Kimberly
#7 - Team 16 Tons – David & Mary
#8 - Team Ergo – Erwin & Godwin
#9 - Team Alabama – Lyn & Karlyn
#10 - Team Rah-Rah – PHILIMINATED

Next week: A catfight between Team Blonde and Team Stonewall.

Last week’s review.

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