Tyler and James leave the Great Wall at 9:04 pm for the vowel-loving capital of Mongolia: Ulaanbaatar. All of the 10 remaining teams make it to a northbound train, eliminating the small lead that the former druggies had stashed away. On the trip--and waiting around for buses and trains--the teams do a bit of bonding, save Dustin and Kandice.
Mary and Dave do some of the best bonding, if only because she's never been outside the Appalachians. "I've never known an Asian person in my life," Mary says. She even lets us know that she's the anti-Duke: "We've never been around gay people, but I like `em!" Meeting new friends is fun!
Once they get to Ulaanbaatar, the teams take spicy taxi rides to a temple and watch a nice little dance. They also pick up their next clue, which sends them to Terelj--by military jeep. Tyler and James get a flat tire, and Rob and Kimberly stop to loan them a jack. Lyn and Karlyn drive by without stopping, and despite all the good karma they've been picking up don't feel too bad about leaving T&J on the side of the road. To wit: "We're not trying to be mean, we just want to win."
The teams all eventually get to Terelj, where they hop on horseback in obnoxious Ghengis Khan helmets. Kimberly gets knocked off her horse by a low branch and Rob doesn't even get off his horse to see if she's ok! One of the horses drags either Dustin or Kandice (we can't tell them apart yet!) and Peter and Sarah are having a great time, though that soon comes to an end. (By the way, is it just us, or does Peter have a Joe Simpson thing going on?)
Sarah and Peter pick the "take down a yurt" challenge only to switch over to the "fill a barrel with water" challenge. Obviously Sarah can't handle it, starts to cry and ends up getting yelled at by Peter. He's so creepy! Sarah's not liking it, either: "I cannot move on with you like this." They end up going back to the "take it down" challenge and move on.
After finishing the detour, a couple of the teams have lost their helmets. Edwin and Godwin make their mark on the series with a quip on Dustin and Kandice: "The Barbies left something, bro!" The Barbies end up losing lots of time searching for their helmet. While they're waiting, E&G as well as the rest of the teams head to the Hotel Mongolia to find this episode's pit stop.
Teams get to shoot flaming arrows into a target 160 feet away. (This is much cooler than eating fish eyes, Fear Factor-style, we'd say.) Most teams nail this challenge, but Kellie and Jamie, of "Do Muslims believe in Buddha?" fame, are the last team to find the firing range. They don't even finish the challenge before Phil gives `em the ax.
Best Bit of American Diplomacy:
In the company of Mongolians, wearing a ridiculous helmet, Dustin shouts out: "I'm a Mongolian! Bring me some barbecue, baby!"
The Scoreboard:
Peter and Sarah come in first, and they win a trip for two to the Mayan Riviera. Good for them, but Sarah does tell us, "There are things that I am learning about Peter. And I'm not always impressed with that. I make no judgments right now, but I make a note of it." Sing it, sister! Tyler and James, who came in first last week, post a respectable second-place finish for this leg. Despite all their troubles, the Barbies catch up and finish in time to continue.
Coming Next Week:
Duke and Lauren take a cab but don't have the money to pay their driver. Tom and Terry tussle with Dustin and Kandice. And, undoubtedly, Peter will continue to creep us out.
by
pbb
