THE RACE
In Shanghai, the Amazing Racers have to hoof it to the Garden Bridge for the next clue. Thing is, the teams have a problem finding someone who speaks English. Plus, most don't even know what it is. The cowboys' cabbie can't find it, which allows the South Carolinas to steal the lead. They then have to get to the Longhua Temple, but they aren't allowed to cab it. The SCs take the bus, while the cowboys jump on the train.
The cute bros struggle to find a native to direct them to the bridge, so they decide to wait for the detectives and mooch off of their skill of perception. They strategize that the detectives can help them find the bridge and then the bros will surpass them when the detectives hit their speed bump. "One of our strategies was never be alone and last," Dan says.
The detectives and the cute bros team up, but have no luck in finding the elusive bridge. So they call a translation service to tell the cabbie where to go. The detectives hop in the taxi whose driver has the bridge location info, while the cute bros go in another and direct their driver to follow their pals' car. But the cute bros' driver doesn't know English and doesn't follow their instructions, and they fall behind. The bros get angry at their clueless driver, with Dan grunting and saying he wants to punch the guy. But the bros somehow catch up to the detectives and the foursome makes its way to the temple.
ROADBLOCK
At the temple, the teams hit a roadblock. They have to count the 523 golden Buddha statues in the crowded room. Ms. SC gets several guesses wrong, but is so close. The cowboys get the right count on their first try, just as Ms. SC gets the correct tally.
The detectives and the cute bros arrive together at the temple, but the detectives hit a speed bump. For the speed bump, the detectives have to go to the temple courtyard and toss a coin in a big incense burner, which is a good luck ritual in China. They quickly complete the speed bump and meet up with the bros in the Buddha room. But the bros have the edge and get the correct number. The detectives get the number wrong at first, but then Louie realizes that he didn't count the two much-bigger statutes near the door of the room. When he adds those in, he gets the number right.
The teams then jump on motorcycles and go to Yuyuan Gardens for their next clue, which gives them a detour.
DETOUR
For this detour, teams choose between pork chops and pork dumplings. In chops, teams make their way to a store that sells "chops," which are elaborately made stamps, and find the stamp that has a pig on the bottom along with each member's name. In dumplings, racers have to walk 10 orders of dumplings through an ass-to-elbows filled courtyard.
The cowboys and the South Carolinas go stamp hunting, but Mr. SC refuses to scour for his piece until his lady lets him go to the bathroom. We endure several minutes of him pleading to her like a five-year-old needing to go potty, and the Ms. telling him to stop being annoying. She finally gives in and lets him go to the bathroom to do his business. Both teams find their stamps at about the same time and scramble to the pit stop, but the bros get the advantage of snagging a cab first.
The detectives and the cute bros also choose pork chops. The bros find their stamps first, though they get stuck in a cab with a lax driver.
PIT STOP
At the Riverside Promenade, the SCs arrive first, which makes the Ms. feel vindicated from her bumbling pageant embarrassment. The couple wins a trip to coastal Spain. The cowboys grab second. The cute bros land third. "My brother made my dream come true," Jordan says, all teary eyed.
OUSTED
The detectives were oh-so-close, but didn't make the cut. "It was the best ride of our life," Michael says.
NEXT WEEK
It's season finale time! To win the million dollars, the racers will scale a building and make their own video-game-type avatars.
Related Stories:
· The Amazing Race [Official Site]
· Amazing Race Coverage [Jaunted]
[Photos: CBS]
