The teams start this leg by heading back to Hanoi after collecting a bunch of dong from an old Vietnamese man sporting a fu manchu and goatee. Since the currency of Vietnam is called the dong, this inevitably leads to enjoyable junior high humor. Tyler appears to have a bit of dong envy when it comes to James, but when the Barbies squawked "We are here to pick up our dong," we really started to cackle.
Before anyone gets too far into this leg, we hear from Sarah: “Peter’s a complicated guy and there’s something I’ve found surprising and wonderful and other things I’ve seen…I don’t know if disappointing is the word.” Ooooh… foreshadowing alert! Also on the character development front, we hear from sprained-ankle suffering Mary: “I sit at home, and I watch reality TV all the time.”
At a downtown park, the teams get audio directions to Ben Xe Gia Lam then Ben Xe Bai Chay then the Hydrofoil harbor in Halong Bay. Obviously, these directions cause some problems for the teams, who don't speak Vietnamese or have any idea where these places are. A few teams realize they can have the taxi drivers listen to the directions. This helps most teams, but Rob’s drivers can’t hear the directions over his yelling.
Kimberly tries her best to calm him down, but it doesn’t really work. They go in a circle and end up getting out and trying again with another cab. Unfortunately, they don't fare much better with their new driver, who causes Rob to scream, "I don't speak your language, bro!" Rob doesn't even pay this guy. "I'm done talking with foreigners," Rob says as he gets into his fourth cab of the episode. Bro! Despite all the taxi troubles and difficult directions, everyone’s on the same bus from Hanoi to Halong Bay and a Road Block.
This week’s Road Block is a total rip-off of the first episode's Great Wall climb. Racers have to use climbing ascenders to scale a huge rock formation—there are only three climbing rigs, so it’s first come, first served. Trying to get an edge, Dustin and Kandice cut in from of Lyn and Karlyn, but one of the Barbies (still can’t tell them apart!) cuts her leg open. "She got what she deserve for cuttin in front of us!" Karlyn says. Ouch.
The challenge would be a total disappointment if it weren’t for Joe Simpson, er, Peter making some awful, awful moves: First, Peter makes Sarah do this challenge?! About halfway up, Sarah starts freaking out. (Yes, again.) So, while she freaks, Peter is totally lounging in the boat! Later he's drinking a Coke as Tyler passes Sarah on the ropes. "Spit on him or somethin’," Peter yells. He really is as classy as Joe Simpson!
Teams get to choose between and Over or Under Detour. The choice is between delivering goods to pontoons or diving for oysters. Rob and Kimberly, well in the lead, have no idea how to row a boat and it shows. It's a good thing the producers made them wear life jackets. Then again, no one seems to have any idea how to row a boat. Of course, Dave and Mary have an excuse. They're from the Kentucky hills, ya'll!
Rob and Kimberly snag their 30 oyster baskets and set out before any of the other teams even begin the Detour. As much as we're being led to hate the couple, they do seem do be knocking challenges out and finding their groove on the race. They head to the pit stop at Soi Sim Island and come in first. T & T give up on paddling and pull the boat while swimming. The sun is starting to go down by the time they finish their oyster diving, so they kick it on the bow of their junk, expecting to be sent home. When they get to the pit stop, Phil delivers the bad news: They're eliminated.
Best Bit of American Diplomacy:
Rob freaks out at one of his many taxi drivers: "Are you stoned, bro?! Dude, I don't even speak your language, dude!"
The Scoreboard:
On the way to the pit stop, we hear from Sarah again: "It kinda kills me when Peter talks about giving up in the middle of a task because I did give 100%," she says. They come in second, but don't get a scolding from Phil about their lack of teamwork. Come on, P! On the beauty queen tip, Kandice "is really getting sick of the blame game," but a little team cry with Dustin heals all rifts.
Coming next week:
Crocodile wrestling for Dustin and Kandice and "Sarah wonders if she's on a one person team." We still haven't seen a yield, fast forward or non-elimination round--be on the lookout.
