The Amazing Race 15
Encyclopedia
The Amazing Race 15 is the fifteenth installment of the reality television show The Amazing Race
. The Amazing Race 15 featured 12 teams of two, with a pre-existing relationship, in a race around the world.
The fifteenth cycle started on Sunday, September 27, 2009, with a two hour premiere. It aired on CBS
in the United States
, and CTV
in Canada
. The Amazing Race 15 aired on Sunday nights at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT with the season finale on December 6, 2009. The show is again hosted by Phil Keoghan
. In Asia, it was on-air on AXN
.
Dating couple Meghan Rickey Whitney and Cheyne Whitney were the winners of this Race. Their total of seven 1st-place leg finishes (including the final leg) is tied with Nick and Starr from TAR 13 as the strongest showing in Race history.
CBS aired the fifteenth season during the start of the 2009-2010 television season
. The announcement is the first such television series announcement to be made by a broadcaster on Twitter
, following Keoghan's own initial announcement of the renewal via Twitter.
The fifteenth season spans eight countries in 21 days and travels 25,000 miles visiting Japan
, Vietnam
, Cambodia
, United Arab Emirates
, Netherlands
and Sweden
, as well as Estonia
and Czech Republic
, which appeared for the first time. It also introduces new features to the race: One team was eliminated right at the Starting Line and a new twist was added, the Switchback, where teams were sent back to one of the series' most challenging Roadblocks. The race revisited the infamous Stockholm Roadblock of Season 6
, in which one team member had to unroll one of 270 hay bales with only 20 containing clues. Instead of being an exact duplicate, however, this Race's Stockholm Roadblock involved fewer bales (186) and instead of 20 clues, only seven flags were hidden. Additionally, the original version had the nine teams competing; by the time this race reached the task, only five teams were involved. Also, the original version's task leg was an elimination leg, but the leg that featured the Switchback was a non-elimination leg.
All route markers and clue boxes in Vietnam
were colored yellow with a white stripe rather than the typical yellow with a red stripe to avoid confusion with the flag of former South Vietnam. This was also done in Season 10
. These were also the original route markers in Season 1
.
This was the second season with a surprise elimination at some location other than a Pit Stop; the other was Season 10
. The eliminated team, Eric & Lisa, who were eliminated at the Starting Line, acknowledged in a post-race interview that they were the first team voluntarily to leave the show instead of spending the remainder of the Race at the Elimination Station. As a consequence, they were not present at the Finish Line (the second team not to show up on the day at the finishing line, the first being at Season 13
) finish line and had no knowledge of the outcome of the Race before the season finale aired.
This was the first season since Season 11
to have more than two non-elimination points (Season 11 had four non-elimination points). This was also the first US season where the first leg was a non-elimination leg. As such, all clues leading to the Pit Stops (including the first leg) ended with the sentence "The last team to check in may be eliminated."
Wayne Newton
appeared in the season finale; teams were instructed to find him in a suite at the MGM Grand Las Vegas
, where he then gave them the location of the Finish Line.
between April 23 and April 30, 2009, for final interviews with the producers. From there, 12 teams were selected as contestants. Filming took place around July and August 2009.
Casting calls were also held as host Phil Keoghan
cycled across the United States during the months of April and early May 2009 to support the National Multiple Sclerosis Society
; Keoghan made stops to help with those casting calls.
Some of the more prominent members of the cast are professional poker players Maria Ho
and Tiffany Michelle
, Miss America 2004
Ericka Dunlap
, and Harlem Globetrotters
Nate "Big Easy" Lofton and Herbert "Flight Time" Lang
.
One member of the cast, Zev Glassenberg, has Asperger's Syndrome
. His partner, Justin Kanew, is the son of Jeff Kanew
, who directed Revenge of the Nerds
.
Meghan and Cheyne were married on May 7, 2011; the teams of Sam and Dan, Maria and Tiffany, and Brian and Ericka were in attendance. Brian and Ericka recently decided to have a divorce prior to this event.
Friends Zev & Justin and Harlem Globetrotters Nate "Big Easy" Lofton and Herbert "Flight Time" Lang raced again in The Amazing Race 18
among a cast made up of returning teams. Zev & Justin were eliminated in 4th place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil whereas Flight Time & Big Easy finished the race in 2nd place ultimately lost the one million dollar grand prize to sisters Kisha & Jen from The Amazing Race 14
.
.
to await the finale. The exception was Eric and Lisa, who chose to leave the show upon their elimination. CBS posted short videos on its website after each episode aired in the Pacific Time Zone
to show the eliminated teams interacting at the villa.
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In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to participate in a Japanese-style game show
called Sushi Roulette. Once all the teams arrived at the Roadblock location, the host would spin a wheel with 11 plates of sushi
, 2 of which were "wasabi bombs"—temaki-style sushi filled only with hot wasabi
. If the racer received a wasabi bomb, he or she had 2 minutes to eat it in order to receive their next clue. If they failed to finish it within the time allotted, they had to play again until they received a new wasabi bomb and could complete the task. Racers who received plain sushi had to eat the sushi and play until they received a wasabi bomb.
Additional tasks
Tokyo (Narita International Airport) to Ho Chi Minh City
, Vietnam
(Tan Son Nhat International Airport
) Ho Chi Minh City to Cái Bè (Cái Bè Bus Terminal)
For this leg's Speed Bump, Maria and Tiffany had to prepare a serving of the Vietnamese soup phở
for the Bến Tàu Du Lịch dockmaster by collecting the ingredients at a soup stand and then combining and serving him the completed phở. In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to herd 150 duck
s out of their pen, lead them across a bridge and back, and then return them back into their pen in 10 minutes using two flags as a means to guide the ducks. With only three available fields, if the team member failed to complete it within 10 minutes, they would have to relinquish their spot and wait for another turn.
Additional task
Cái Bè to Mỹ Tho (Mỹ Tho Boat Pier)
During the Pit Stop, the Bassac III traveled from Cái Bè to Mỹ Tho with all of the teams on board. In this leg's Detour, teams had to choose between Child's Play or Word Play. In Child's Play, teams had to find a kiosk named in Tao Dan Park and transport a concrete
animal statue to a children's playground, collecting five different colored balloons along the way, in order to receive their next clue. In Word Play, teams had to go up to Hotel A Dong's observation deck and search the traffic circle
of (Six-way Intersection of the Republic) in front of the hotel for six Vietnamese letters
hidden atop vehicles passing through the circle, then get assistance from the locals to unscramble the letters to spell the Vietnamese word "", which means "independence
." In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to disassemble and organize the hardware of two VCRs in order to receive their next clue.
Additional tasks
, Cambodia
(Phnom Penh International Airport
)
In this leg's Detour, teams had to choose between Cover or Wrap. In Cover, teams headed to a marked motorcycle
helmet
shop, choose four helmets, then sell them using just their persuasion to a family of four (two adults and two children) for US$
10. When completed, they would hand the money to the store owner who would hand them their next clue in exchange. In Wrap, teams had to find the Russian Market (Psar Toul Tom Poung) and find stalls 980 and 981, where the shopkeeper handed them a silk scarf. They then had to search the market for a woman wearing an identical scarf and bring the woman back to the stall. When they correctly matched the two scarfs, the shopkeeper would hand them their next clue. In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to put on a monkey
mask and tail, then perform three Classical Khmer monkey dance
maneuvers as demonstrated by the monkey dancer. If it was to the satisfaction of the monkey dancer, he would hand them their next clue.
Additional tasks
Phnom Penh (Phnom Penh International Airport) to Dubai
, United Arab Emirates
(Dubai International Airport
)
In the Race's only Fast Forward, teams travelled to the Dubai Autodrome
where one team member had to operate a Formula Three
open wheel race car
and complete a single lap around the track of the Dubai Autodrome
in 45 seconds or less. If successful, they would win the Fast Forward and be driven to the Pit Stop in a Maserati
. In this leg's Roadblock, one team member chose a traditional water bag and had to search the Desert Reserve for a series of urn
s buried in the sand. Some of the urns contained water, while others were empty. When they found enough water to fill their bag, they gave it to a Bedouin
and his thirsty camel
s to receive their next clue. In this leg's Detour, teams chose between Build a Snowman or Find a Snowman. In Build a Snowman, teams had to take snow from Ski Dubai and carry it outside, where the temperature was approximately 120 °F (48.9 °C). They then had to build a snowman
– complete with two coal eyes, carrot nose and a top hat – before the snow melted. If the snowman was to the attendant's satisfaction, she would hand them their next clue. In Find a Snowman, teams had to ride the ski lift
to the top of the artificial mountain, sled down to the bottom, dig through piles of snow for a toy snowman buried within it, then give it to a person in a polar bear
suit who would hand them their next clue.
Additional task
In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to row an inflatable dinghy
out to a yacht
anchored offshore and meet a sheikh
on board who gave the team member a watch
. After rowing back to the dock, he or she would have to open a locked briefcase they were told to pick up at the beginning of the leg, figuring out that the time displayed on the watch corresponded with the combination
to the briefcase's lock (8:35 → 8-3-5). In this leg's Detour, teams chose between Gold or Glass. In Gold, teams had to find Deepu Jewellers in New Gold Centre in Deira
where they would use a precision scale to weigh out US$
500,000 worth of gold
to the nearest ounce
. The price of gold
per ounce was displayed on a television monitor and changed by the minute. Once the correct amount was on the scale, they would receive their next clue. In Glass, teams made their way to a spice market in Deira where they had to open a crate and assemble twelve hookah
s – using all parts from the crate and using three displayed hookahs as guides – before receiving their next clue.
Additional tasks:
Dubai (Dubai International Airport) to Amsterdam
, Netherlands
(Amsterdam Airport Schiphol)
In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to climb to the top of the Martinitoren
and count all of the bells in the carillon
. When they gave the right number (62) to the carillonneur, they would receive their next clue. If they provided the wrong number, they would have to climb back up to the carillon to count again. This Roadblock's hint is a reference to the first (aired) Roadblock ever on The Amazing Race. In this leg's Detour, teams chose between Farmer's Game or Farmer's Dance. In both Detours, teams dressed in traditional Dutch costumes—one male and one female—and rode bicycle
s to their Detour choice. In Farmer's Game, teams had to strip down to their Dutch underwear and swim across a creek. On the other side, they had to retrieve a special set of golf club
s and play 3 holes of Farmersgolf. Team members took turns with each stroke and had to finish within par
of 8 strokes on each hole to receive their next clue. In Farmer's Dance, teams had to find a country festival where one team member had to hit the bell on a high striker
(if that team member failed, team members would take turns until they hit the bell). They then had to enter a dance hall to learn a traditional Dutch folk dance
and perform that dance in front of a crowd. If the dance was to the instructor's satisfaction, the instructor would give each team member a serving of soused herring
which they had to eat in order to receive their next clue.
, Sweden
(Stockholm-Arlanda Airport
) Stockholm (Arlanda North Station
) to (Stockholm Central Station
) Stockholm (Tivoli Gröna Lund
- Fritt Fall)
In this leg's Detour, teams choose between Nobel Dynamite or Viking Alphabet. In Nobel Dynamite, teams traveled to a rock quarry and had to fill sandbags to create a protective bunker in the rock quarry. Once they were protected, they set off an explosion with dynamite
, which would unearth a metal box containing their next clue. In Viking Alphabet, teams had to decode a message in Elder Futhark
on a runestone (using smaller stones with both runes
and letters
) that told them to "Find the Strong Viking
" to receive their next clue. In this leg's Roadblock, one team member participated in an Amazing Race Switchback of the notorious Roadblock from the Sweden leg of Season 6
: the team member had to search through 186 hay
bales to find one of seven flags (the Season 6 Roadblock had sisters Lena & Kristy searching for their clue for nearly 10 hours). When teams found one of the flags, they were allowed to proceed to the nearby Pit Stop.
Additional tasks:
, Estonia
(Port of Tallinn
)
For this leg's Speed Bump, Gary and Matt had to find a Saunabuss parked nearby, strip naked, and spend five minutes in a sauna
with some locals. In this leg's Roadblock, teams went into the cellar of the Mustpeade Maja and participated in a ceremony of the Brotherhood of the Blackheads Guild (Schwarzhäupter ). Team members took a candelabra
with a room number attached from a table of revelers. When they found that room, they were given what appeared to be a blank scroll and a crayon. Team members had to figure out that their next clue was written in invisible ink
and could be revealed by holding the scroll over the light of the candle. In this leg's Detour, teams choose between Serve or Sling. In Serve, teams participated in a game of volleyball
in the Keava bog
, where they had to score a total of five points against a local team in order to receive their next clue. In Sling, teams put on bog shoes
and walked out onto the bog where they used slingshot
s to fire assorted vegetables at a target, which when hit would collapse a table full of cabbage
s along with their next clue.
Additional task
Tallinn (Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport) to Prague
, Czech Republic
(Ruzyně Airport)
In this leg's Detour, teams chose Fast & Furious or Slow & Steady. In Fast & Furious, teams had to row a kayak
down a manmade whitewater rafting
course used by professional kayakers and grab a ribbon suspended over the course which had their next clue written on it; if their boat capsized before reaching the clue, they had to start the course over. In Slow & Steady, teams had to pull themselves along an aerial rope course suspended above the rafting course. When they reached the end of the rope, they would get ribbons that had their next clue written on them. In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to search the Estates Theatre for a miniature mandolin
. Once they found it, they had to bring it onstage to an actor dressed as the titular character
from the Mozart
opera Don Giovanni
(which premiered at the theatre), who would hand them their next clue.
Additional tasks
For this leg's Speed Bump, Brian and Ericka had to find the M1 Lounge, where each of them had to prepare and drink a traditional shot of absinthe
. In this leg's Roadblock, one team member entered the museum and search among several hundred ringing telephone
s for the five that had a person on the other end of the line. A voice from each phone would give the team member one letter to the word "FRANZ"—a reference to Franz Kafka
. After obtaining all five letters, the team member had to fill out a form with several biographical questions and attempt to unscramble the five letters to form his name. If they were correct, the inspector would hand them their next clue. In this leg's Detour, teams chose between Legend or Lager. In Legend, teams built a golem
by placing wet clay around a hay frame, then transported it to the Old-New Synagogue
. If the golem was to the rabbi
s' satisfaction, they would hand them their next clue. In Lager
, teams had to carry a total of 30 glasses of beer from a brewery called Pivovar a Restaurace "U Fleků" through the busy town square and deliver them to a bar named Restaurace Kozička to receive their next clue.
Additional tasks
Prague (Ruzyně Airport) to Las Vegas
, Nevada
, USA
(McCarran International Airport
)
For the season's final Roadblock, one team member had to rappel
down the exterior of the Mandalay Bay hotel tower face-down in order to retrieve their next clue.
Additional tasks
for "Outstanding Reality Program" during the 21st GLAAD Media Awards
.
The Amazing Race (U.S. TV series)
The Amazing Race is an American reality game show in which teams of two or four race around the world against other teams, with the first-place team winning $1,000,000. As the original version of the Amazing Race franchise, the CBS program has been running since 2001 and is airing its nineteenth...
. The Amazing Race 15 featured 12 teams of two, with a pre-existing relationship, in a race around the world.
The fifteenth cycle started on Sunday, September 27, 2009, with a two hour premiere. It aired on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and CTV
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The Amazing Race 15 aired on Sunday nights at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT with the season finale on December 6, 2009. The show is again hosted by Phil Keoghan
Phil Keoghan
Philip John "Phil" Keoghan is a New Zealand-born television personality, best known for hosting the U.S. version of The Amazing Race on CBS, since its 2001 debut. He is also the creator and host of No Opportunity Wasted, which has been produced in the United States, New Zealand, and Canada...
. In Asia, it was on-air on AXN
AXN Asia
AXN Asia is a pay-tv, cable and satellite TV channel owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment. It is available in throughout the 18 countries around the Asia-Pacific region...
.
Dating couple Meghan Rickey Whitney and Cheyne Whitney were the winners of this Race. Their total of seven 1st-place leg finishes (including the final leg) is tied with Nick and Starr from TAR 13 as the strongest showing in Race history.
Development and filming
CBS aired the fifteenth season during the start of the 2009-2010 television season
2009–2010 United States network television schedule
The following is the 2009–2010 network television schedule for the five major English-language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 2009 through May 2010. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new...
. The announcement is the first such television series announcement to be made by a broadcaster on Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
, following Keoghan's own initial announcement of the renewal via Twitter.
The fifteenth season spans eight countries in 21 days and travels 25,000 miles visiting Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, as well as Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
and Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, which appeared for the first time. It also introduces new features to the race: One team was eliminated right at the Starting Line and a new twist was added, the Switchback, where teams were sent back to one of the series' most challenging Roadblocks. The race revisited the infamous Stockholm Roadblock of Season 6
The Amazing Race 6
The Amazing Race 6 is the sixth installment of the reality television series The Amazing Race. It premiered on November 16, 2004, and concluded on February 8, 2005.Freddy Holliday & Kendra Bentley were the winners of this Race....
, in which one team member had to unroll one of 270 hay bales with only 20 containing clues. Instead of being an exact duplicate, however, this Race's Stockholm Roadblock involved fewer bales (186) and instead of 20 clues, only seven flags were hidden. Additionally, the original version had the nine teams competing; by the time this race reached the task, only five teams were involved. Also, the original version's task leg was an elimination leg, but the leg that featured the Switchback was a non-elimination leg.
All route markers and clue boxes in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
were colored yellow with a white stripe rather than the typical yellow with a red stripe to avoid confusion with the flag of former South Vietnam. This was also done in Season 10
The Amazing Race 10
The Amazing Race 10 is the tenth installment of the reality television show The Amazing Race. The Amazing Race 10 features twelve teams of two with a pre-existing relationship in a race around the world....
. These were also the original route markers in Season 1
The Amazing Race 1
The Amazing Race is the first installment of the reality television show The Amazing Race...
.
This was the second season with a surprise elimination at some location other than a Pit Stop; the other was Season 10
The Amazing Race 10
The Amazing Race 10 is the tenth installment of the reality television show The Amazing Race. The Amazing Race 10 features twelve teams of two with a pre-existing relationship in a race around the world....
. The eliminated team, Eric & Lisa, who were eliminated at the Starting Line, acknowledged in a post-race interview that they were the first team voluntarily to leave the show instead of spending the remainder of the Race at the Elimination Station. As a consequence, they were not present at the Finish Line (the second team not to show up on the day at the finishing line, the first being at Season 13
The Amazing Race 13
The Amazing Race 13 is the 13th installment of the reality television competition series The Amazing Race. It featured 11 teams of two, each with a preexisting relationship, in a race around the world....
) finish line and had no knowledge of the outcome of the Race before the season finale aired.
This was the first season since Season 11
The Amazing Race 11
The Amazing Race 11 is the 11th installment of the reality television show The Amazing Race...
to have more than two non-elimination points (Season 11 had four non-elimination points). This was also the first US season where the first leg was a non-elimination leg. As such, all clues leading to the Pit Stops (including the first leg) ended with the sentence "The last team to check in may be eliminated."
Wayne Newton
Wayne Newton
Wayne Newton is an American singer and entertainer based in Las Vegas, Nevada. He performed over 30,000 solo shows in Las Vegas over a period of over 40 years, earning him the nicknames The Midnight Idol, Mr. Las Vegas and Mr. Entertainment...
appeared in the season finale; teams were instructed to find him in a suite at the MGM Grand Las Vegas
MGM Grand Las Vegas
The MGM Grand Las Vegas is a hotel casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The MGM Grand is the third largest hotel in the world and largest hotel resort complex in the United States in front of The Venetian. The MGM Grand was the largest hotel in the world when it opened in...
, where he then gave them the location of the Finish Line.
Cast
Applications were originally due by February 24, 2009, but the deadline was later extended. Semi-finalist interviews were held between March 20 and March 29, 2009. Following this, finalists were invited to Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
between April 23 and April 30, 2009, for final interviews with the producers. From there, 12 teams were selected as contestants. Filming took place around July and August 2009.
Casting calls were also held as host Phil Keoghan
Phil Keoghan
Philip John "Phil" Keoghan is a New Zealand-born television personality, best known for hosting the U.S. version of The Amazing Race on CBS, since its 2001 debut. He is also the creator and host of No Opportunity Wasted, which has been produced in the United States, New Zealand, and Canada...
cycled across the United States during the months of April and early May 2009 to support the National Multiple Sclerosis Society
National Multiple Sclerosis Society
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society, a United States-based non-profit organization, and its network of chapters nationwide promote research, educate, advocate on issues relating to multiple sclerosis, and organize a wide range of programs, including support for the newly diagnosed and those...
; Keoghan made stops to help with those casting calls.
Some of the more prominent members of the cast are professional poker players Maria Ho
Maria Ho
Maria Ho is a professional poker player, born in Taipei, Taiwan. She is currently ranked 12th in the world among female poker pros in overall earnings....
and Tiffany Michelle
Tiffany Michelle
Tiffany Michelle is an American poker player and actress, born and raised in Los Angeles, CA.Michelle gained fame when she was the last woman remaining out of 6,844 players in the 2008 World Series of Poker Championship Event, making $334,534 for her 17th place finish...
, Miss America 2004
Miss America 2004
Miss America 2004, the 83rd Miss America, pageant, was broadcast from the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 20, 2003 on ABC Network.-Placements:*Miss America 2004: Ericka Dunlap...
Ericka Dunlap
Ericka Dunlap
Ericka Dunlap is an American beauty pageant titleholder from Orlando, Florida who was named Miss Florida 2003 and subsequently crowned Miss America 2004. Dunlap was the first African American woman to be crowned Miss Florida....
, and Harlem Globetrotters
Harlem Globetrotters
The Harlem Globetrotters are an exhibition basketball team that combines athleticism, theater and comedy. The executive offices for the team are currently in downtown Phoenix, Arizona; the team is owned by Shamrock Holdings, which oversees the various investments of the Roy E. Disney family.Over...
Nate "Big Easy" Lofton and Herbert "Flight Time" Lang
Herbert "Flight Time" Lang
Herbert "Flight Time" Lang is an American basketball player for the Harlem Globetrotters.-Career:He graduated from Centenary College of Louisiana in 1998, after a season in which he led the Trans-America Athletic Conference in scoring and won the National Association of Basketball Coaches Slam...
.
One member of the cast, Zev Glassenberg, has Asperger's Syndrome
Asperger syndrome
Asperger's syndrome that is characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction, alongside restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests. It differs from other autism spectrum disorders by its relative preservation of linguistic and cognitive development...
. His partner, Justin Kanew, is the son of Jeff Kanew
Jeff Kanew
Jeffrey Roger Kanew is an American film director, writer and editor who early in his career made trailers for many films of the '70s and is probably best known for directing the film Revenge of the Nerds ....
, who directed Revenge of the Nerds
Revenge of the Nerds
Revenge of the Nerds is a 1984 comedy film satirizing social life on a college campus. The film stars Robert Carradine and Anthony Edwards, with Curtis Armstrong, Ted McGinley, Julia Montgomery, Brian Tochi, Larry B. Scott, John Goodman, and Donald Gibb...
.
Meghan and Cheyne were married on May 7, 2011; the teams of Sam and Dan, Maria and Tiffany, and Brian and Ericka were in attendance. Brian and Ericka recently decided to have a divorce prior to this event.
Friends Zev & Justin and Harlem Globetrotters Nate "Big Easy" Lofton and Herbert "Flight Time" Lang raced again in The Amazing Race 18
The Amazing Race 18
The Amazing Race 18 is the eighteenth installment of the reality television show The Amazing Race. The Amazing Race 18 features eleven teams of two – each returning from a previous edition – in a race around the world for a $1 million prize.The eighteenth cycle started on Sunday,...
among a cast made up of returning teams. Zev & Justin were eliminated in 4th place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil whereas Flight Time & Big Easy finished the race in 2nd place ultimately lost the one million dollar grand prize to sisters Kisha & Jen from The Amazing Race 14
The Amazing Race 14
The Amazing Race 14 is the fourteenth installment of the reality television show The Amazing Race. The Amazing Race 14 featured 11 teams of two, with a pre-existing relationship, in a race around the world....
.
Results
The following teams participated in the Race, with their relationships at the time of filming. Note this table does not necessarily reflect all content broadcast on television due to inclusion or exclusion of some data. Placements are listed in finishing order.| Team | Relationship | Position (by leg) | Roadblocks performed |
|||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | |||
| Meghan & Cheyne | Dating | 1st | 6th | 2nd | 5th | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | Meghan 5, Cheyne 6 |
| Sam & Dan | Brothers | 9th | 2nd | 5th | 1st | 5th | 3rd | 1st | 4th | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | Sam 6, Dan 6 |
| Brian & Ericka Ericka Dunlap Ericka Dunlap is an American beauty pageant titleholder from Orlando, Florida who was named Miss Florida 2003 and subsequently crowned Miss America 2004. Dunlap was the first African American woman to be crowned Miss Florida.... |
Married | 6th | 10th | 4th | 3rd | 2nd | 4th | 5th | 3rd | 4th | 3rd | 3rd | Brian 6, Ericka 6 | |
| Harlem Globetrotters Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters are an exhibition basketball team that combines athleticism, theater and comedy. The executive offices for the team are currently in downtown Phoenix, Arizona; the team is owned by Shamrock Holdings, which oversees the various investments of the Roy E. Disney family.Over... |
5th | 3rd | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 6th | 3rd | 1st | 3rd | 3rd | ||||
| Gary & Matt | Father/Son | 7th | 1st | 3rd | 4th | 4th | 5th | 4th | Gary 4, Matt 5 | |||||
| Maria Maria Ho Maria Ho is a professional poker player, born in Taipei, Taiwan. She is currently ranked 12th in the world among female poker pros in overall earnings.... & Tiffany Tiffany Michelle Tiffany Michelle is an American poker player and actress, born and raised in Los Angeles, CA.Michelle gained fame when she was the last woman remaining out of 6,844 players in the 2008 World Series of Poker Championship Event, making $334,534 for her 17th place finish... |
7th | 6th | 8th | 6th | 2nd | Maria 2, Tiffany 5 | ||||||||
| Mika & Canaan | Newly Dating | 10th | 8th | 7th | 7th | 7th | Mika 1, Canaan 5 | |||||||
| Lance & Keri | Engaged | 3rd | 4th | 9th | 6th | Lance 3, Keri 2 | ||||||||
| Zev & Justin | Friends | 2nd | 5th | 8th | Zev 2, Justin 2 | |||||||||
| Marcy & Ron | Dating | 4th | 9th | Marcy 1, Ron 2 | ||||||||||
| Garrett & Jessica | Dating On & Off | 8th | Garrett 1, Jessica 1 | |||||||||||
| Eric & Lisa | Married Yoga Yoga Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul... Teachers |
Eric 0, Lisa 0 | ||||||||||||
- A team placement indicates that the team was eliminated.
- A indicates that the team won a Fast Forward clue.
- An team's placement indicates that the team came in last on a non-elimination leg and had to perform a Speed Bump task in the following leg.
- A means the team chose to use a U-Turn; indicates the team who received it; around a leg number indicates a leg where the U-Turn was available but not used.
- Eric & Lisa were eliminated at the Starting Line as per the provisions of the starting line task (see Race Summary below).
- Mika & Canaan arrived at the Pit Stop in 10th place, but had lost one of the tourists that they were required bring with them. They backtracked to find their missing tourist before checking in, again. This did not affect their placement.
- Maria & Tiffany arrived at the Pit Stop in 11th place, but had lost two of the tourists that they were required bring with them. Rather than backtrack to find them, Maria & Tiffany elected to take a 2-hour penalty. Because they were in last place and it was a non-elimination leg, the 2-hour penalty would be applied to their starting time for the next Leg.
- In an unaired scene, Lance & Keri used a Blind U-Turn on Sam & Dan. However, Sam & Dan were already in front of them and the U-Turn had no effect.
- Zev & Justin initially arrived 1st, but discovered after being checked in at the mat that they were missing Zev's passport. They were told that they could not be checked in unless they had their travel documents, and backtracked to find it. All other teams checked in to the Pit Stop before they could find Zev's passport, resulting in Zev & Justin being eliminated.
- Mika & Canaan did not finish the task at the Atlantis, The PalmAtlantis, The PalmAtlantis, the Palm is a hotel resort at Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is a joint venture between Kerzner International Limited and Istithmar PSJC and was opened on 24 September 2008. The resort is modelled after the Atlantis, Paradise Island resort in Nassau, Bahamas...
resort due to Mika's fear of heights and swimming/water. Already in last place, they proceeded to the Pit Stop where they checked in and were eliminated. - Brian & Ericka initially arrived 5th, but were issued a 30-minute penalty because they did not travel by bicycle to the Detour as they instructed in their clue. This did not affect their placement.
- Maria & Tiffany failed to complete either of the Detour tasks and elected to take a 24-hour penalty for failing a Detour. Already in last place, Phil came out to them on the race course and eliminated them.
- Brian & Ericka initially arrived 3rd, but were issued a 30-minute penalty for writing down the letters in the Roadblock task before reaching the office, which was explicitly prohibited in the clue. This did not affect their placement and was unaired.
- At the Ekotechnické Museum, where the location of the Roadblock was, Big Easy decided that he could not finish the task and he & Flight Time decided to take the 4-hour penalty. By the time they arrived at the next Route Marker at the Kryocentrum, all the other teams had already checked in at the mat, and the clue instructed them to go directly to the Pit Stop, where they were eliminated.
Episode title quotes
Episode titles are often taken from quotes made by the racers.- "They Thought Godzilla Was Walking Down the Street" – Flight Time
- "It's Like Being Dropped on Planet Mars" – Lance
- "Sean Penn Cambodia Here We Come" – Justin
- "I’m Like Ricky BobbyTalladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky BobbyTalladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is a 2006 American comedy film, directed by Adam McKay and starring Will Ferrell. The film also features John C. Reilly, Michael Clarke Duncan, Leslie Bibb, Amy Adams, Gary Cole, Jane Lynch, and Sacha Baron Cohen. Various Saturday Night Live alumni also...
" – Cheyne - "Do It for the Hood! Do It for the Suburbs!" – Flight Time/Sam
- "This Is Not My Finest Hour" – Ericka
- "This Is the Worst Thing I've Ever Done in My Life" – Meghan
- "We’re Not Meant for the Swamp" – Brian
- "We're Not Working With Anybody, Ever, Anymore!" – Ericka
- "It Starts With an “F”, That’s All I’m Saying" – Dan
- "Amazing GraceAmazing Grace"Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn with words written by the English poet and clergyman John Newton , published in 1779. With a message that forgiveness and redemption are possible regardless of the sins people commit and that the soul can be delivered from despair through the mercy of God,...
, How Sweet the Sound" – Elvis Presley impersonator; a cluegiver (non-racer)
Prizes
The prize for each leg is awarded to the first place team for that leg. All trips are sponsored by TravelocityTravelocity
Travelocity is an online travel agency and wholly owned subsidiary of Sabre Holdings Corporation, which was a publicly traded company until taken private by Silver Lake Partners and Texas Pacific Group in March 2007...
.
- Leg 1 – A trip for two to AspenAspen, ColoradoThe City of Aspen is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the city population was 5,804 in 2005...
and VailVail, ColoradoThe Town of Vail is a Home Rule Municipality in Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The population of the town was 4,589 in 2005. The town was established and built as the base village to Vail Ski Resort, with which it was originally conceived...
, ColoradoColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains... - Leg 2 – A kayakKayakA kayak is a small, relatively narrow, human-powered boat primarily designed to be manually propelled by means of a double blade paddle.The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each seating one paddler...
for each person - Leg 3 – A trip for two to ArubaArubaAruba is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km east of Guajira Peninsula...
- Leg 4 – A pair of motorcycles (unaired)
- Leg 5 – A trip for two to JamaicaJamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
- Leg 6 – Two personal watercrafts
- Leg 7 – A pair of dune buggiesDune buggyA dune buggy is a recreational vehicle with large wheels, and wide tires, designed for use on sand dunes or beaches. The design is usually a modified vehicle and engine mounted on an open chassis. The modifications usually attempt to increase the power-to-weight ratio by either lightening the...
- Leg 8 – A trip for two to the Turks and Caicos IslandsTurks and Caicos IslandsThe Turks and Caicos Islands are a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union consisting of two groups of tropical islands in the Caribbean, the larger Caicos Islands and the smaller Turks Islands, known for tourism and as an offshore financial centre.The Turks and...
- Leg 9 – A red cedar saunaSaunaA sauna is a small room or house designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions, or an establishment with one or more of these and auxiliary facilities....
- Leg 10 – A trip for two to LanaiLanaiLānai or Lanai is the sixth-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is also known as the Pineapple Island because of its past as an island-wide pineapple plantation. The only town is Lānai City, a small settlement....
, HawaiiHawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of... - Leg 11 – A pair of 52 inch HD LCD TVs
- Leg 12 – $1,000,000
Elimination Station
After elimination, five of the first six teams eliminated were sequestered at a villa in Phú Quốc, VietnamVietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
to await the finale. The exception was Eric and Lisa, who chose to leave the show upon their elimination. CBS posted short videos on its website after each episode aired in the Pacific Time Zone
Pacific Time Zone
The Pacific Time Zone observes standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time . The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time of the 120th meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory. During daylight saving time, its time offset is UTC-7.In the United States...
to show the eliminated teams interacting at the villa.
- Leg 1 was a non-elimination leg, hence no team was sent to the villa and no episode was shown as no teams had arrived at the villa. Eric and Lisa were the first team eliminated which is at the Starting Line, but they did not go to the Elimination Station (see above).
- After Leg 2, Garrett and Jessica were the second team eliminated and were the first team sent to the villa. They both expressed their disappointment after having been in second place earlier in the leg and then being the first eliminated. Garrett believed that either Maria and Tiffany or Mika and Canaan would be the next team eliminated but both agreed that any of the teams could be eliminated next because of the animal challenges that presented them in the leg prior. Garrett noticed that Jessica was extremely bummed since being eliminated and Garrett wanted to ask her to marry him at the Finish Line. Garrett proposed to Jessica at the beach and she said yes, after which her mood was significantly raised.
- After Leg 3, Marcy and Ron were the third team eliminated and were the second team sent to the villa. Ron told Garrett and Jessica that the intensity had gone up a notch between the remaining racers in the last leg. The eliminated teams did a Vietnamese Martial Arts Exercise, then went out to a luxurious restaurant called "Việt Xưa." They took different views as to who would be the next team eliminated; Marcy believed that Flight Time and Big Easy would be eliminated next, Garrett, Jessica and Ron went with Meghan and Cheyne, Sam and Dan, and Mika and Canaan respectively.
- After Leg 4, Zev and Justin were the fourth team eliminated but were not immediately sent to the villa due to Zev losing his passportPassportA passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identity and nationality of its holder. The elements of identity are name, date of birth, sex, and place of birth....
. At the villa, Marcy and Ron asked Garrett and Jessica about the marriage proposal. Noting it had been two days since the next eliminated team was supposed to arrive, the two teams discussed what might have happened to the next eliminated team. Ron speculated that the team had either lost their passports or were seriously injured. Meanwhile, in Phnom PenhPhnom PenhPhnom Penh is the capital and largest city of Cambodia. Located on the banks of the Mekong River, Phnom Penh has been the national capital since the French colonized Cambodia, and has grown to become the nation's center of economic and industrial activities, as well as the center of security,...
, Zev and Justin went to the U.S. Embassy to request a replacement passport for Zev, only to find it had been found in a temple near the Roadblock and was turned in. They grew even more disappointed when they figured out the passport likely fell out of the fanny pack when Justin opened it to retrieve a headlight while they were searching for the Roadblock in the wrong place. They later called the villa and informed the two teams there of their elimination due to the passport mishap and told them that they would join them as soon as they could. - After Leg 5, Lance and Keri were the fifth team eliminated. The two teams at the villa were discussing Zev and Justin, speculating about their elimination. A van arrived at the villa and the teams went outside, fully expecting to see Zev and Justin. They were surprised to see that the van contained Lance and Keri ; the third team to arrive at the villa. They explained to the other two teams at the villa of their bad directional skills that led to their elimination, as well as the lodging conditions during the Cambodia Pit Stop. The three eliminated teams at the villa drove down to a nearby river and started a race in a traditional Vietnamese boat between the boys (Garrett, Ron and Lance) and the girls (Jessica, Marcy and Keri).
- After Leg 6, Mika and Canaan were the sixth team eliminated. In the race teased in the previous episode, the eliminated girls managed to beat the boys in the boat race by nine seconds. Back at the villa, as the other three eliminated teams were relaxing, they noticed that Zev and Justin showed up ; the fourth team to arrive at the villa. The three eliminated teams were happy to see Zev and Justin showed up at the villa. They explained how they got eliminated and what they went through after being eliminated from the race. The four eliminated teams went out to the night market where Zev sampled a chicken footChicken feetChicken feet are a part of the chicken that is eaten in Mexican, Chinese, Trinidadian, Jamaican, South African, Peruvian, Dominican, Philippine cuisine and middle east. Most of the edible meat on the feet consists of skin and tendons, without much muscle. This gives the feet a distinct texture...
. Mika and Canaan were the fifth and last team to arrive at the villa. They explained to the other four eliminated teams of Mika's fear of waterAquaphobiaAquaphobia is an abnormal and persistent fear of water. Aquaphobia is a specific phobia that involves a level of fear that is beyond the patient's control or that may interfere with daily life. People suffer aquaphobia in many ways and may experience it even though they realize the water in an...
and heightsAcrophobiaAcrophobia is an extreme or irrational fear of heights. It belongs to a category of specific phobias, called space and motion discomfort that share both similar etiology and options for treatment.Most people experience a degree of natural fear when exposed to heights, especially if there is little...
that led to their elimination. Canaan noted they were at the water slide for around 45 minutes. - After Leg 7, Maria and Tiffany were the seventh team eliminated. While the eliminated teams were playing cards, Maria and Tiffany called the villa to inform them of their elimination. They tried to explain to the other teams the true reason they were eliminated, but none of the eliminated teams believed their story, as Maria and Tiffany had lied about their professions in the early stages of the race. Maria and Tiffany told the teams they would see them at the End City. Several teams expressed their resentment of Maria and Tiffany as well as their satisfaction that they were eliminated from the race and would not be joining them at the villa. The teams at the villa traveled to a rough-looking soccer field where they believed they would be playing against 7-9 year old children from the area, but instead played against a teenage-looking group of soccer players.
- Leg 8 was a non-elimination leg, hence no new teams were sent to the villa. In the soccer match teased in the previous episode, the Vietnam soccer players easily defeated the eliminated boys 4-0. The eliminated teams at the villa had a Shaman visit the villa where teams had their futures told to them. Canaan decided to break up with Mika, saying the reason was not because of the Race, but because he was not ready for a relationship and hopes they remain friends. In a post race interview, however, they mentioned that they made up.
- After Leg 9, Gary and Matt were the eighth team eliminated. Prior to the call, the eliminated teams at the villa made predictions on who would be eliminated next. All teams believed it was Brian and Ericka, except for Zev and Justin who believed it would be Gary and Matt who would be eliminated next. Gary and Matt then called the teams at the villa to inform them of their elimination. They told them about their Speed Bump that helped lead them to their elimination, saying they were just minutes behind the last team. When asked who would win the race, they believed any one of the teams could win.
- Leg 10 was a non-elimination leg, hence no new teams were sent to the villa. A taekwondoTaekwondoTaekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon means "to strike or break with fist"; and do means "way", "method", or "path"...
instructor was brought in to teach the eliminated teams how to spar. Lance, who was a blackbelt, took on the taekwondo master's student - ultimately cheating by wrestling him onto the floor. They all then tried breaking tiles with their hands. All the eliminated teams had to pack up and fly to the End City. Jessica believed it was in Portland, OregonPortland, OregonPortland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, or maybe in Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, while Lance wished for it to be on the East Coast so he could return to Boston, MassachusettsBostonBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
easily afterward. - After Leg 11, Flight Time and Big Easy were the ninth and final team eliminated. Elimination Station showed the five of the six eliminated teams arriving at the End City in Las Vegas, NevadaLas Vegas, NevadaLas Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
. After arriving in Las Vegas, the teams checked in to a hotel. Once they checked in, they discuss to each other prior to a phone call from the ninth team eliminated. The teams at the hotel were shocked and disappointed to hear about Flight Time and Big Easy's elimination especially Zev and Justin who wanted them to win. They told them about what went wrong at the Roadblock. Flight Time and Big Easy said that they want to see Meghan and Cheyne to win it all and they told them that they'll see them at the Finish Line. Lance and Keri are happy to see the end of the race and to know who they think is going to win. Garrett said that it's anybody's race. All the eliminated teams wants to see Meghan and Cheyne to win, except for Garrett and Jessica who wanted to see Sam and Dan to come in 1st, Brian and Ericka in 2nd, and Meghan and Cheyne in 3rd. - Leg 12 was the final leg of The Amazing Race 15. Maria and Tiffany, Gary and Matt, and Flight Time and Big Easy reunited with the other eliminated teams at the Finish Line minus Eric and Lisa. Most of the teams believed that they wanted to see Meghan and Cheyne to win. Teams expressed their opinions about the final three teams at the Finish Line along with their joys and disappointments.
Race summary
Leg 1 (United States → Japan)
- Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(Los Angeles RiverLos Angeles RiverThe Los Angeles River is a river that starts in the San Fernando Valley, in the Simi Hills and Santa Susana Mountains, and flows through Los Angeles County, California, from Canoga Park in the western end of the San Fernando Valley, nearly southeast to its mouth in Long Beach...
– Sixth Street ViaductSixth Street ViaductThe Sixth Street Viaduct is a viaduct bridge that connects the downtown and Boyle Heights areas of Los Angeles, California. It spans the Los Angeles River, the Santa Ana Freeway , and the Golden State Freeway , as well as Metrolink and Union Pacific railroad tracks and several local streets...
) (Starting Line and Elimination Point) Los Angeles (Los Angeles International AirportLos Angeles International AirportLos Angeles International Airport is the primary airport serving the Greater Los Angeles Area, the second-most populated metropolitan area in the United States. It is most often referred to by its IATA airport code LAX, with the letters pronounced individually...
) to TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
(Narita International AirportNarita International Airportis an international airport serving the Greater Tokyo Area of Japan. It is located east of Tokyo Station and east-southeast of Narita Station in the city of Narita, and the adjacent town of Shibayama....
) - MinatoMinato, Tokyois one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. As of 1 March 2008, it had an official population of 217,335 and a population density of 10,865 persons per km². The total area is 20.34 km².Minato hosts 49 embassies...
, Tokyo (Tokyo TowerTokyo Toweris a communications and observation tower located in Shiba Park, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. At , it is the second tallest artificial structure in Japan. The structure is an Eiffel Tower-inspired lattice tower that is painted white and international orange to comply with air safety regulations.Built in...
Studios [ ]) - ShibuyaShibuya, Tokyois one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. As of 2008, it has an estimated population of 208,371 and a population density of 13,540 persons per km². The total area is 15.11 km²....
, Tokyo (Konnō Hachimangū ShrineHachiman ShrineA is a Shinto shrine dedicated to kami Hachiman. It is the second most numerous type of Shinto shrine after those dedicated to Inari.Originally the name was read Yawata or Yahata, a reading still used in some occasions.-Famous Hachiman shrines:...
[ ])
Japanese variety show
Japanese variety show is a entertainment television program made up of a variety of original stunts, musical performances, comedy skits, quiz contests, and other acts.-Current situation:...
called Sushi Roulette. Once all the teams arrived at the Roadblock location, the host would spin a wheel with 11 plates of sushi
Sushi
is a Japanese food consisting of cooked vinegared rice combined with other ingredients . Neta and forms of sushi presentation vary, but the ingredient which all sushi have in common is shari...
, 2 of which were "wasabi bombs"—temaki-style sushi filled only with hot wasabi
Wasabi
, also known as Japanese horseradish, is a member of the Brassicaceae family, which includes cabbages, horseradish, and mustard. Its root is used as a condiment and has an extremely strong flavor. Its hotness is more akin to that of a hot mustard rather than the capsaicin in a chili pepper,...
. If the racer received a wasabi bomb, he or she had 2 minutes to eat it in order to receive their next clue. If they failed to finish it within the time allotted, they had to play again until they received a new wasabi bomb and could complete the task. Racers who received plain sushi had to eat the sushi and play until they received a wasabi bomb.
Additional tasks
- At the Starting Line, teams had to search through over 1,000 license platesVehicle registration plateA vehicle registration plate is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identification purposes. The registration identifier is a numeric or alphanumeric code that uniquely identifies the vehicle within the issuing region's database...
for one of 11 Japanese plates from Shinagawa, TokyoShinagawa, Tokyois one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. In English, it is called Shinagawa City. The ward is home to nine embassies.As of 2008, the ward has an estimated population of 344,461 and a density of 15,740 persons per km². The total area is 22.72 km²....
, and present it to Phil to receive tickets for one of two flights from Los Angeles to Tokyo. The kanjiKanjiKanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
for were given in the clue, though not explicitly. The team without a license plate was not given tickets to Tokyo and was eliminated. - After the Roadblock, teams received a colored flag and had to lead a group of 20 Japanese tourists wearing the same colored visors as their flag to the Pit Stop via the scramble crossingPedestrian scrambleA pedestrian scramble, also known as a 'X' Crossing , diagonal crossing , scramble intersection , and more poetically Barnes Dance, is a pedestrian crossing system that stops all vehicular traffic and allows pedestrians to cross an intersection in every direction, including diagonally, at the same...
in ShibuyaShibuya, Tokyois one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. As of 2008, it has an estimated population of 208,371 and a population density of 13,540 persons per km². The total area is 15.11 km²....
. Teams were not allowed to check in unless all 20 members of their group were present at the mat.
Leg 2 (Japan → Vietnam)
Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City , formerly named Saigon is the largest city in Vietnam...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
(Tan Son Nhat International AirportTan Son Nhat International Airport
Tan Son Nhat International Airport is Vietnam's largest international airport in terms of area . It has a handling capacity of 15-17 million passengers per year, compared with the capacity of Hanoi - Noi Bai airport of 8 million passengers and Da Nang's 2 million passengers...
) Ho Chi Minh City to Cái Bè (Cái Bè Bus Terminal)
- Cái Bè (Bến Tàu Du Lịch Dock)
- Cái Bè (Fruit Farm Mud Pits)
- Cái Bè (Sân Vận Động Thị Trấn Cái Bè [Cai Be Township Sports Ground])
- Cái Bè (Chợ Cái Bè [Cai Be Market] - Bassac III Riverboat)
For this leg's Speed Bump, Maria and Tiffany had to prepare a serving of the Vietnamese soup phở
PHO
PHO may refer to:* Primary Health Organisation* Potentially hazardous object, an asteroid or comet that could potentially collide with Earth...
for the Bến Tàu Du Lịch dockmaster by collecting the ingredients at a soup stand and then combining and serving him the completed phở. In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to herd 150 duck
Duck
Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...
s out of their pen, lead them across a bridge and back, and then return them back into their pen in 10 minutes using two flags as a means to guide the ducks. With only three available fields, if the team member failed to complete it within 10 minutes, they would have to relinquish their spot and wait for another turn.
Additional task
- At the Bến Tàu Du Lịch boat dock, teams had to take a sampanSampanA sampan is a relatively flat bottomed Chinese wooden boat from long. Some sampans include a small shelter on board, and may be used as a permanent habitation on inland waters. Sampans are generally used for transportation in coastal areas or rivers, and are often used as traditional fishing boats...
along the Mekong DeltaMekong DeltaThe Mekong Delta is the region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea through a network of distributaries. The Mekong delta region encompasses a large portion of southwestern Vietnam of . The size of the area covered by water depends on the season.The...
to a fruit farm. There, teams had to collect nutrient-rich mud in buckets and pile it at the base of a fruit tree to a designated line to receive their next clue.
Leg 3 (Vietnam)
- Ho Chi Minh City (Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theatre [])
- Ho Chi Minh City (Ho Chi Minh City Post OfficeSaigon Central Post OfficeSaigon Central Post Office is a post office in the downtown Ho Chi Minh City, near Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica, the city's main church. The building was constructed when Vietnam was part of French Indochina in the early 20th century. It has a Gothic architectural style. It was designed and...
) - Ho Chi Minh City
- Ho Chi Minh City (Reunification PalaceReunification PalaceReunification Palace formerly known as Independence Palace , built on the site of the former Norodom Palace, is a landmark in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It was designed by architect Ngô Viết Thụ and was the home and workplace of the President of South Vietnam during the Vietnam War...
)
During the Pit Stop, the Bassac III traveled from Cái Bè to Mỹ Tho with all of the teams on board. In this leg's Detour, teams had to choose between Child's Play or Word Play. In Child's Play, teams had to find a kiosk named in Tao Dan Park and transport a concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
animal statue to a children's playground, collecting five different colored balloons along the way, in order to receive their next clue. In Word Play, teams had to go up to Hotel A Dong's observation deck and search the traffic circle
Traffic circle
A traffic circle or rotary is a type of circular intersection in which traffic must travel in one direction around a central island. In some countries, traffic entering the circle has the right-of-way and drivers in the circle must yield. In many other countries, traffic entering the circle must...
of (Six-way Intersection of the Republic) in front of the hotel for six Vietnamese letters
Vietnamese alphabet
The Vietnamese alphabet, called Chữ Quốc Ngữ , usually shortened to Quốc Ngữ , is the modern writing system for the Vietnamese language...
hidden atop vehicles passing through the circle, then get assistance from the locals to unscramble the letters to spell the Vietnamese word "", which means "independence
Independence
Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory....
." In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to disassemble and organize the hardware of two VCRs in order to receive their next clue.
Additional tasks
- At the Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theatre, teams had to grab a flag containing their clue from the mouth of a dragon puppet moving about in the water. This clue consisted solely of a postage stamp concealed inside a small container. Teams were left to figure out that the stamp depicted the Saigon Central Post OfficeSaigon Central Post OfficeSaigon Central Post Office is a post office in the downtown Ho Chi Minh City, near Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica, the city's main church. The building was constructed when Vietnam was part of French Indochina in the early 20th century. It has a Gothic architectural style. It was designed and...
(referred to as the "Ho Chi Minh City Post Office" in the show), where their next clue was located.
Leg 4 (Vietnam → Cambodia)
Ho Chi Minh City (Tan Son Nhat International Airport) to Phnom PenhPhnom Penh
Phnom Penh is the capital and largest city of Cambodia. Located on the banks of the Mekong River, Phnom Penh has been the national capital since the French colonized Cambodia, and has grown to become the nation's center of economic and industrial activities, as well as the center of security,...
, Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
(Phnom Penh International AirportPhnom Penh International Airport
-Statistics:-International terminal profile:*Total capacity: 2 million passengers**Surface: **Waiting lounges: **VIP Lounge: **Food & Beverage: **Duty Free: *Seat capacity: 360*Check-in counters: 22*Visa, Immigration and Customs counters: 30...
)
- Phnom Penh (Foreign Correspondents' ClubForeign Correspondents' Club, Phnom PenhThe Foreign Correspondents' Club in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia,is a public bar and restaurant along the Tonle Sap river, not far fromthe conjunction with the Mekong river...
) - Phnom Penh (Raffles Hotel Le RoyalRaffles Hotel Le RoyalRaffles Hotel Le Royal is a luxury five star boutique hotel in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The hotel is located at 92 Rukhak Vithei Daun Penh, Sangkat Wat Phnom, Daun Penh District...
) - Phnom Penh (Wat Toul Tom Pong)
- Phnom Penh (Wat PhnomWat PhnomWat Phnom is a Buddhist temple located in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It was built in 1373, and stands 27 metres above the ground. It is the tallest religious structure in the city.-History:...
)
In this leg's Detour, teams had to choose between Cover or Wrap. In Cover, teams headed to a marked motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
helmet
Motorcycle helmet
A motorcycle helmet is a type of protective headgear used by motorcycle riders. The primary goal of a motorcycle helmet is motorcycle safety - to protect the rider's head during impact, thus preventing or reducing head injury or saving the rider's life...
shop, choose four helmets, then sell them using just their persuasion to a family of four (two adults and two children) for US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
10. When completed, they would hand the money to the store owner who would hand them their next clue in exchange. In Wrap, teams had to find the Russian Market (Psar Toul Tom Poung) and find stalls 980 and 981, where the shopkeeper handed them a silk scarf. They then had to search the market for a woman wearing an identical scarf and bring the woman back to the stall. When they correctly matched the two scarfs, the shopkeeper would hand them their next clue. In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to put on a monkey
Monkey
A monkey is a primate, either an Old World monkey or a New World monkey. There are about 260 known living species of monkey. Many are arboreal, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent. Unlike apes, monkeys...
mask and tail, then perform three Classical Khmer monkey dance
Khmer classical dance
The Royal Ballet of Cambodia is a form of performing arts established in the royal courts of Cambodia for the purpose of entertainment as well as ceremonial propitiation...
maneuvers as demonstrated by the monkey dancer. If it was to the satisfaction of the monkey dancer, he would hand them their next clue.
Additional tasks
- At the Foreign Correspondents' Club, teams had to find two correspondents reading newspapers and whisper to them, "May I have my next assignment?" They then would receive their next clue hidden inside a newspaper.
- Inside the clue given at the Foreign Correspondents' Club was a duplicate photo of King Norodom SihanoukNorodom SihanoukNorodom Sihanouk regular script was the King of Cambodia from 1941 to 1955 and again from 1993 until his semi-retirement and voluntary abdication on 7 October 2004 in favor of his son, the current King Norodom Sihamoni...
and Jacqueline KennedyJacqueline Kennedy OnassisJacqueline Lee Bouvier "Jackie" Kennedy Onassis was the wife of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, and served as First Lady of the United States during his presidency from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. Five years later she married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle...
taken in 1967. Teams were left to figure out that such a photo could be found at a hotel suite named after Kennedy at the Hotel Le Royal, where they would receive their next clue.
Leg 5 (Cambodia → United Arab Emirates)
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
, United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
(Dubai International AirportDubai International Airport
Dubai International Airport is an international airport serving Dubai, the largest city of the United Arab Emirates. It is a major aviation hub in the Middle East, and is the main airport of Dubai. It is situated in the Al Garhoud district, southeast of Dubai...
)
- Dubai (Burj Dubai)
- Dubai (Dubai AutodromeDubai AutodromeThe Dubai Autodrome is an F.I.A. sanctioned 5.39 km motorsports circuit located in Dubailand, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.Opened in October 2004 with the final round of the 2004 Formula Renault V6 Eurocup season, Dubai Autodrome was the first part of the Dubai Motor City development that was...
)
- Dubai (Dubai Autodrome
- Dubai (The Dubai Mall - Park # P2)
- Margham (Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve [])
- Dubai (Mall of the EmiratesMall of the EmiratesThe Mall of the Emirates is a shopping mall in the Al Barsha district of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It was developed by Majid Al Futtaim Properties under the leadership of its CEO, Peter Walichnowski, who was also the developer of "Bluewater" near London, Europe's most successful shopping mall....
– Ski DubaiSki DubaiSki Dubai is an indoor ski resort with 22,500 square metres of indoor ski area. It is a part of the Mall of the Emirates, one of the largest shopping malls in the world, located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates...
) - Dubai (Souk Madinat JumeirahMadinat JumeirahMadinat Jumeirah, owned by Jumeirah who also own the World's 7 star hotel Burj Al Arab, is a luxurious 5 star resort in Dubai and is also the largest resort in Dubai, spreading across over 40 hectares of landscapes and gardens. It is designed to resemble a traditional Arabian town...
)
In the Race's only Fast Forward, teams travelled to the Dubai Autodrome
Dubai Autodrome
The Dubai Autodrome is an F.I.A. sanctioned 5.39 km motorsports circuit located in Dubailand, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.Opened in October 2004 with the final round of the 2004 Formula Renault V6 Eurocup season, Dubai Autodrome was the first part of the Dubai Motor City development that was...
where one team member had to operate a Formula Three
Formula Three
Formula Three, also called Formula 3 or F3, is a class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers...
open wheel race car
Open wheel car
Open-wheel car, formula car, or often single-seater car in British English, describes cars with the wheels outside the car's main body and, in most cases, one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have their wheels below the body or fenders...
and complete a single lap around the track of the Dubai Autodrome
Dubai Autodrome
The Dubai Autodrome is an F.I.A. sanctioned 5.39 km motorsports circuit located in Dubailand, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.Opened in October 2004 with the final round of the 2004 Formula Renault V6 Eurocup season, Dubai Autodrome was the first part of the Dubai Motor City development that was...
in 45 seconds or less. If successful, they would win the Fast Forward and be driven to the Pit Stop in a Maserati
Maserati
Maserati is an Italian luxury car manufacturer established on December 1, 1914, in Bologna. The company's headquarters is now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. It has been owned by the Italian car giant Fiat S.p.A. since 1993...
. In this leg's Roadblock, one team member chose a traditional water bag and had to search the Desert Reserve for a series of urn
Urn
An urn is a vase, ordinarily covered, that usually has a narrowed neck above a footed pedestal. "Knife urns" placed on pedestals flanking a dining-room sideboard were an English innovation for high-style dining rooms of the late 1760s...
s buried in the sand. Some of the urns contained water, while others were empty. When they found enough water to fill their bag, they gave it to a Bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
and his thirsty camel
Camel
A camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as humps on its back. There are two species of camels: the dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the bactrian has two humps. Dromedaries are native to the dry desert areas of West Asia,...
s to receive their next clue. In this leg's Detour, teams chose between Build a Snowman or Find a Snowman. In Build a Snowman, teams had to take snow from Ski Dubai and carry it outside, where the temperature was approximately 120 °F (48.9 °C). They then had to build a snowman
Snowman
A snowman is an anthropomorphic snow sculpture. They are customarily built by children as part of a family project in celebration of winter. In some cases, participants in winter festivals will build large numbers of snowmen...
– complete with two coal eyes, carrot nose and a top hat – before the snow melted. If the snowman was to the attendant's satisfaction, she would hand them their next clue. In Find a Snowman, teams had to ride the ski lift
Ski lift
The term ski lift generally refers to any transport device that carries skiers up a hill. A ski lift may fall into one of the following three main classes:-Lift systems and networks:...
to the top of the artificial mountain, sled down to the bottom, dig through piles of snow for a toy snowman buried within it, then give it to a person in a polar bear
Polar Bear
The polar bear is a bear native largely within the Arctic Circle encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the world's largest land carnivore and also the largest bear, together with the omnivorous Kodiak Bear, which is approximately the same size...
suit who would hand them their next clue.
Additional task
- Teams arrived at the Dubai FountainDubai FountainThe Dubai Fountain is a record-setting choreographed fountain system set on the 30-acre manmade Burj Khalifa Lake, at the center of the Downtown Dubai development in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It was designed by WET Design, the California-based company responsible for the fountains at the...
to sign up for one of two departure times to Burj Dubai (now Burj Khalifa) the following morning. At the designated time, the teams boarded an elevator bound for a balcony located on the 120th floor of then still-under construction tallest building in the world, where their next clue was located.
Leg 6 (United Arab Emirates)
- Dubai (Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club)
- Dubai (AbraAbra (boat)An abra is a traditional boat made of wood, used to transport people across Dubai Creek in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. A medium-sized single-engine craft with a capacity of about 20 passengers, it is driven by a single operator from a cockpit stepped in the center of the hull...
Station in Souq quarter of Dubai to Deira, DubaiDeira, DubaiDeira is an area in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates bordered by the Persian Gulf, Sharjah and Dubai Creek. Historically, it has been the center of Dubai, but has been losing its importance during the past few decades due to recent development along E 11 road and areas further down the...
) - Palm JumeirahPalm JumeirahThe Palm Jumeirah is an artificial archipelago created using land reclamation by Nakheel, a company owned by the Dubai government in United Arab Emirates. It is one of three islands called the Palm Islands which extend into the Persian Gulf, increasing Dubai’s shoreline by a total of...
, Dubai (Atlantis, The PalmAtlantis, The PalmAtlantis, the Palm is a hotel resort at Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is a joint venture between Kerzner International Limited and Istithmar PSJC and was opened on 24 September 2008. The resort is modelled after the Atlantis, Paradise Island resort in Nassau, Bahamas...
- Aquaventure - The Leap of Faith) - Palm Jumeirah, Dubai (Atlantis, The Palm - Dolphin Bay Beach)
In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to row an inflatable dinghy
Dinghy
A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or towed for use as a ship's boat by a larger vessel. It is a loanword from either Bengali or Urdu. The term can also refer to small racing yachts or recreational open sailing boats. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor,...
out to a yacht
Yacht
A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...
anchored offshore and meet a sheikh
Sheikh
Not to be confused with sikhSheikh — also spelled Sheik or Shaikh, or transliterated as Shaykh — is an honorific in the Arabic language that literally means "elder" and carries the meaning "leader and/or governor"...
on board who gave the team member a watch
Watch
A watch is a small timepiece, typically worn either on the wrist or attached on a chain and carried in a pocket, with wristwatches being the most common type of watch used today. They evolved in the 17th century from spring powered clocks, which appeared in the 15th century. The first watches were...
. After rowing back to the dock, he or she would have to open a locked briefcase they were told to pick up at the beginning of the leg, figuring out that the time displayed on the watch corresponded with the combination
Combination lock
A combination lock is a type of lock in which a sequence of numbers or symbols is used to open the lock. The sequence may be entered using a single rotating dial which interacts with several discs or cams, by using a set of several rotating discs with inscribed numerals which directly interact with...
to the briefcase's lock (8:35 → 8-3-5). In this leg's Detour, teams chose between Gold or Glass. In Gold, teams had to find Deepu Jewellers in New Gold Centre in Deira
Deira, Dubai
Deira is an area in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates bordered by the Persian Gulf, Sharjah and Dubai Creek. Historically, it has been the center of Dubai, but has been losing its importance during the past few decades due to recent development along E 11 road and areas further down the...
where they would use a precision scale to weigh out US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
500,000 worth of gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
to the nearest ounce
Ounce
The ounce is a unit of mass with several definitions, the most commonly used of which are equal to approximately 28 grams. The ounce is used in a number of different systems, including various systems of mass that form part of the imperial and United States customary systems...
. The price of gold
Gold as an investment
Of all the precious metals, gold is the most popular as an investment. Investors generally buy gold as a hedge or harbor against economic, political, or social fiat currency crises...
per ounce was displayed on a television monitor and changed by the minute. Once the correct amount was on the scale, they would receive their next clue. In Glass, teams made their way to a spice market in Deira where they had to open a crate and assemble twelve hookah
Hookah
A hookah A hookah(Gujarati હૂકાહ) A hookah(Gujarati હૂકાહ) (Hindustani: हुक़्क़ा (Devanagari, (Nastaleeq) huqqah) also known as a waterpipe or narghile, is a single or multi-stemmed (often glass-based) instrument for smoking in which the smoke is cooled by water. The tobacco smoked is referred to...
s – using all parts from the crate and using three displayed hookahs as guides – before receiving their next clue.
Additional tasks:
- At the Atlantis Aquaventure Park, both team members had to slide down the resort's Leap of Faith water slideWater slideA water slide is a type of slide designed for warm-weather or indoor recreational use at water parks. Water slides differ in their riding method and therefore size...
which dropped them six stories down a nearly 90° incline and through a tunnel beneath the aquarium's shark lagoon. At the bottom, teams would find their next clue. If multiple teams were at the top of the slide at the same time, the leading team had two minutes to go down the slide; if the two minutes elapsed, the leading team was required to move aside and allow the trailing team the opportunity to slide down.
Leg 7 (United Arab Emirates → Netherlands)
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
(Amsterdam Airport Schiphol)
- AfsluitdijkAfsluitdijkThe Afsluitdijk is a major causeway in the Netherlands, constructed between 1927 and 1933 and running from Den Oever on Wieringen in North Holland province, to the village of Zurich in Friesland province, over a length of and a width of 90 m, at an initial height of 7.25 m above sea-level.It is...
(Cornelis LelyCornelis LelyCornelis Lely was a Dutch civil engineer and statesman. He first designed and then realised by a law the Zuiderzee Works, a major project that turned the Zuiderzee into a lake, and converting a huge area into dry land.-Career outline:From 1886 to 1891, Lely led the technical research team that...
Monument) - Groningen (MartinitorenMartinitorenThe Martinitoren is the highest church tower in the city of Groningen, The Netherlands.The tower is located at the north-eastern corner of the Grote Markt , is part of the Martinikerk . The tower contains a brick spiral staircase consisting of 260 steps, and the carillon within the tower contains...
) - Vierhuizen , De MarneDe MarneDe Marne is a municipality in the northeast of the Netherlands.- Population centres :Broek, Eenrum, Hornhuizen, Houwerzijl, Kleine Huisjes, Kloosterburen, Kruisweg, Lauwersoog, Leens, Mensingeweer, Molenrij, Niekerk, Pieterburen, Schouwerzijl, Ulrum, Vierhuizen, Warfhuizen, Wehe-den Hoorn,...
(Windmill De Onderneming ) - ZoutkampZoutkampZoutkamp is a town in De Marne, Groningen in the Netherlands.Until 2008 it was the site of a ground station of the Dutch Nationale SIGINT Organisatie , which intercepted satellite communications much like the U.S. National Security Agency.-External links:*...
, De Marne (Harbor)
In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to climb to the top of the Martinitoren
Martinitoren
The Martinitoren is the highest church tower in the city of Groningen, The Netherlands.The tower is located at the north-eastern corner of the Grote Markt , is part of the Martinikerk . The tower contains a brick spiral staircase consisting of 260 steps, and the carillon within the tower contains...
and count all of the bells in the carillon
Carillon
A carillon is a musical instrument that is typically housed in a free-standing bell tower, or the belfry of a church or other municipal building. The instrument consists of at least 23 cast bronze, cup-shaped bells, which are played serially to play a melody, or sounded together to play a chord...
. When they gave the right number (62) to the carillonneur, they would receive their next clue. If they provided the wrong number, they would have to climb back up to the carillon to count again. This Roadblock's hint is a reference to the first (aired) Roadblock ever on The Amazing Race. In this leg's Detour, teams chose between Farmer's Game or Farmer's Dance. In both Detours, teams dressed in traditional Dutch costumes—one male and one female—and rode bicycle
Bicycle
A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
s to their Detour choice. In Farmer's Game, teams had to strip down to their Dutch underwear and swim across a creek. On the other side, they had to retrieve a special set of golf club
Golf club (equipment)
A golf club is used to hit a golf ball in a game of golf. Each club is composed of a shaft with a grip and a clubhead. Woods are mainly used for long-distance fairway or tee shots; irons, the most versatile class, are used for a variety of shots; Hybrids that combine design elements of woods and...
s and play 3 holes of Farmersgolf. Team members took turns with each stroke and had to finish within par
Par (score)
The word "par" is a term in the game of golf used to denote the pre-determined number of strokes that a scratch golfer should require to complete a hole, a round , or a tournament...
of 8 strokes on each hole to receive their next clue. In Farmer's Dance, teams had to find a country festival where one team member had to hit the bell on a high striker
High striker
A high striker, also known as a strength tester, or strongman game, is an attraction used in funfairs, fundraisers, and carnivals. It operates by utilizing the lever where one end holds a puck attached to the tower and the other end is struck by the person or contestant using a hammer or mallet....
(if that team member failed, team members would take turns until they hit the bell). They then had to enter a dance hall to learn a traditional Dutch folk dance
Dutch folk dance
Dutch folk dance are the traditional dances that were performed for the folk.Many associate Dutch folk dance with clogging, though clogs in practice limit the dance moves. Therefore the folk dance is mostly danced in shoes. Historically the Dutch danced in shoes as this was part of their Church...
and perform that dance in front of a crowd. If the dance was to the instructor's satisfaction, the instructor would give each team member a serving of soused herring
Soused herring
The term soused herring usually means 'soaked in a mild preserving liquid', and can be used to refer to raw herring in a mild vinegar pickle or the famous Dutch brined herring...
which they had to eat in order to receive their next clue.
Leg 8 (Netherlands → Sweden)
Amsterdam (Amsterdam Airport Schiphol) to StockholmStockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
(Stockholm-Arlanda AirportStockholm-Arlanda Airport
Stockholm Arlanda Airport , is an international airport located in the Sigtuna Municipality of Sweden, near the town of Märsta, north of Stockholm and nearly , by road, south-east of Uppsala....
) Stockholm (Arlanda North Station
Arlanda North Station
Arlanda North Station is a railway station on the Arlanda Line serving Stockholm-Arlanda Airport in Sweden. The station is one of two station at the airport to be served by the Arlanda Express, the other being Arlanda South Station. The station is located inside a tunnel below the airport and is...
) to (Stockholm Central Station
Stockholm Central Station
Stockholm Central Station is the largest railway station in Sweden. The station is situated in the district of Norrmalm at Vasagatan/Central Plan. Opened July 18, 1871, the station is the largest in Sweden, with over 200,000 visitors daily...
) Stockholm (Tivoli Gröna Lund
Gröna Lund
Tivoli Gröna Lund or Grönan is an amusement park in Stockholm, Sweden. It is located on the seaward side of the Djurgården island and is relatively small compared to other amusement parks, mainly due to its central location, which limits expansion. Gröna Lund is a popular venue for concerts during...
- Fritt Fall)
- Stockholm (Tivoli Gröna Lund - Ring Toss Booth)
- VäsbyUpplands VäsbyUpplands Väsby is a bimunicipal locality and the seat of Upplands Väsby Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 35,977 inhabitants in 2005.-Overview:...
, Sollentuna MunicipalitySollentuna MunicipalitySollentuna Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in Sollentuna....
(Bögs Gård Farm )
In this leg's Detour, teams choose between Nobel Dynamite or Viking Alphabet. In Nobel Dynamite, teams traveled to a rock quarry and had to fill sandbags to create a protective bunker in the rock quarry. Once they were protected, they set off an explosion with dynamite
Dynamite
Dynamite is an explosive material based on nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth , or another absorbent substance such as powdered shells, clay, sawdust, or wood pulp. Dynamites using organic materials such as sawdust are less stable and such use has been generally discontinued...
, which would unearth a metal box containing their next clue. In Viking Alphabet, teams had to decode a message in Elder Futhark
Elder Futhark
The Elder Futhark is the oldest form of the runic alphabet, used by Germanic tribes for Northwest Germanic and Migration period Germanic dialects of the 2nd to 8th centuries for inscriptions on artifacts such as jewellery, amulets, tools, weapons and runestones...
on a runestone (using smaller stones with both runes
Runic alphabet
The runic alphabets are a set of related alphabets using letters known as runes to write various Germanic languages before the adoption of the Latin alphabet and for specialized purposes thereafter...
and letters
English alphabet
The modern English alphabet is a Latin alphabet consisting of 26 letters and 2 ligatures – the same letters that are found in the Basic modern Latin alphabet:...
) that told them to "Find the Strong Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
" to receive their next clue. In this leg's Roadblock, one team member participated in an Amazing Race Switchback of the notorious Roadblock from the Sweden leg of Season 6
The Amazing Race 6
The Amazing Race 6 is the sixth installment of the reality television series The Amazing Race. It premiered on November 16, 2004, and concluded on February 8, 2005.Freddy Holliday & Kendra Bentley were the winners of this Race....
: the team member had to search through 186 hay
Hay
Hay is grass, legumes or other herbaceous plants that have been cut, dried, and stored for use as animal fodder, particularly for grazing livestock such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep. Hay is also fed to pets such as rabbits and guinea pigs...
bales to find one of seven flags (the Season 6 Roadblock had sisters Lena & Kristy searching for their clue for nearly 10 hours). When teams found one of the flags, they were allowed to proceed to the nearby Pit Stop.
Additional tasks:
- At the Tivoli Gröna Lund amusement parkAmusement parkthumb|Cinderella Castle in [[Magic Kingdom]], [[Disney World]]Amusement and theme parks are terms for a group of entertainment attractions and rides and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people...
, one team member had to ride the Fritt Fall drop tower to look for an arrow that pointed them in the direction of their next clue, located among some carnival gameCarnival gameA carnival game is a game of chance or skill that can be seen at a traveling carnival, charity fund raiser, amusement park, or on a state and county fair midway....
s. - After successfully locating the clue from the Fritt Fall, teams had to play a game of ring toss until they ringed a cone with a TravelocityTravelocityTravelocity is an online travel agency and wholly owned subsidiary of Sabre Holdings Corporation, which was a publicly traded company until taken private by Silver Lake Partners and Texas Pacific Group in March 2007...
Roaming Gnome concealed beneath it. If successful, the game operator would hand them the gnome, which had their next clue on the bottom of its base. Teams had to keep the Roaming Gnome with them for the remainder of the leg.
Leg 9 (Sweden → Estonia)
Stockholm (Frihamnsterminalen ) to TallinnTallinn
Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...
, Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
(Port of TallinnPort of Tallinn
Port of Tallinn is the biggest port authority in Estonia. Taking into account both cargo and passenger traffic, it is one of the largest port enterprises of the Baltic Sea...
)
- Tallinn (Mustpeade Maja )
- Tallinn (Pikk HermannPikk HermannPikk Hermann is a tower of the Toompea Castle, on Toompea hill in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. The first part was built 1360-70. It was rebuilt in the 16th century...
Tower Garden) - KeavaKeavaKeava is a small borough in Kehtna Parish, Rapla County, Estonia. Population 287 ....
(Keava Raba Outlook Tower)
For this leg's Speed Bump, Gary and Matt had to find a Saunabuss parked nearby, strip naked, and spend five minutes in a sauna
Sauna
A sauna is a small room or house designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions, or an establishment with one or more of these and auxiliary facilities....
with some locals. In this leg's Roadblock, teams went into the cellar of the Mustpeade Maja and participated in a ceremony of the Brotherhood of the Blackheads Guild (Schwarzhäupter ). Team members took a candelabra
Candelabra
"Candelabra" is the traditional term for a set of multiple decorative candlesticks, each of which often holds a candle on each of multiple arms or branches connected to a column or pedestal...
with a room number attached from a table of revelers. When they found that room, they were given what appeared to be a blank scroll and a crayon. Team members had to figure out that their next clue was written in invisible ink
Invisible ink
Invisible ink, also known as security ink, is a substance used for writing, which is invisible either on application or soon thereafter, and which later on can be made visible by some means. Invisible ink is one form of steganography, and it has been used in espionage...
and could be revealed by holding the scroll over the light of the candle. In this leg's Detour, teams choose between Serve or Sling. In Serve, teams participated in a game of volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
in the Keava bog
Bog
A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens....
, where they had to score a total of five points against a local team in order to receive their next clue. In Sling, teams put on bog shoes
Snowshoe
A snowshoe is footwear for walking over the snow. Snowshoes work by distributing the weight of the person over a larger area so that the person's foot does not sink completely into the snow, a quality called "flotation"....
and walked out onto the bog where they used slingshot
Slingshot
A slingshot, shanghai, flip, bean shooter or catapult is a small hand-powered projectile weapon. The classic form consists of a Y-shaped frame held in the off hand, with two rubber strips attached to the uprights. The other ends of the strips lead back to a pocket which holds the projectile...
s to fire assorted vegetables at a target, which when hit would collapse a table full of cabbage
Cabbage
Cabbage is a popular cultivar of the species Brassica oleracea Linne of the Family Brassicaceae and is a leafy green vegetable...
s along with their next clue.
Additional task
- At the beginning of the leg, teams were given a set of keys along with their clue. When they arrived at the Mustpeade Maja, they had to find the right key that would sound an alarm to open the door.
Leg 10 (Estonia → Czech Republic)
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
(Ruzyně Airport)
- Prague (Old Town SquareOld Town Square (Prague)Old Town Square is a historic square in the Old Town quarter of Prague in the Czech Republic at .Located between Wenceslas Square and the Charles Bridge, Prague's Old Town Square is often bursting at the seams with tourists in the summer. Featuring various architectural styles including the...
) - Prague (VltavaVltavaThe Vltava is the longest river in the Czech Republic, running north from its source in Šumava through Český Krumlov, České Budějovice, and Prague, merging with the Elbe at Mělník...
- Kajaky Trója) - Prague (Estates TheatreEstates TheatreThe Estates Theatre or Stavovské divadlo is a historic theatre in Prague, Czech Republic. The Estates Theatre was annexed to the National Theatre in 1948 and currently draws on three artistic ensembles, opera, ballet, and drama, which perform at the Estates Theatre, the National Theatre , and the...
) - Prague (Prague CastlePrague CastlePrague Castle is a castle in Prague where the Kings of Bohemia, Holy Roman Emperors and presidents of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic have had their offices. The Czech Crown Jewels are kept here...
)
In this leg's Detour, teams chose Fast & Furious or Slow & Steady. In Fast & Furious, teams had to row a kayak
Kayak
A kayak is a small, relatively narrow, human-powered boat primarily designed to be manually propelled by means of a double blade paddle.The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each seating one paddler...
down a manmade whitewater rafting
Rafting
Rafting or white water rafting is a challenging recreational outdoor activity using an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other bodies of water. This is usually done on white water or different degrees of rough water, in order to thrill and excite the raft passengers. The development of this...
course used by professional kayakers and grab a ribbon suspended over the course which had their next clue written on it; if their boat capsized before reaching the clue, they had to start the course over. In Slow & Steady, teams had to pull themselves along an aerial rope course suspended above the rafting course. When they reached the end of the rope, they would get ribbons that had their next clue written on them. In this leg's Roadblock, one team member had to search the Estates Theatre for a miniature mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
. Once they found it, they had to bring it onstage to an actor dressed as the titular character
Don Juan
Don Juan is a legendary, fictional libertine whose story has been told many times by many authors. El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra by Tirso de Molina is a play set in the fourteenth century that was published in Spain around 1630...
from the Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
opera Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
(which premiered at the theatre), who would hand them their next clue.
Additional tasks
- At Old Town Square, teams had to find a man in a vintage PragaPraga HostivarPraga is a manufacturing company based in Prague. In 2006, it was purchased by International Truck Alliance.- History :Praga was founded in 1907 to build motor cars. as a venture between Frantisek Ringhoffer and the First Czech-Moravian Machine Factory. Ringhoffer only stayed for one year and in...
who would give them their next clue. - After the Detour, teams had to figure out that the words on their ribbons – – referred to the Estates TheatreEstates TheatreThe Estates Theatre or Stavovské divadlo is a historic theatre in Prague, Czech Republic. The Estates Theatre was annexed to the National Theatre in 1948 and currently draws on three artistic ensembles, opera, ballet, and drama, which perform at the Estates Theatre, the National Theatre , and the...
, their next destination.
Leg 11 (Czech Republic)
- Prague (Spanish Synagogue)
- Prague (Ekotechnické Museum)
- Prague (Kryocentrum )
- Prague (Charles BridgeCharles BridgeThe Charles Bridge is a famous historic bridge that crosses the Vltava river in Prague, Czech Republic. Its construction started in 1357 under the auspices of King Charles IV, and finished in the beginning of the 15th century...
) - Prague (Střelecký Ostrov )
For this leg's Speed Bump, Brian and Ericka had to find the M1 Lounge, where each of them had to prepare and drink a traditional shot of absinthe
Absinthe
Absinthe is historically described as a distilled, highly alcoholic beverage. It is an anise-flavoured spirit derived from herbs, including the flowers and leaves of the herb Artemisia absinthium, commonly referred to as "grande wormwood", together with green anise and sweet fennel...
. In this leg's Roadblock, one team member entered the museum and search among several hundred ringing telephone
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
s for the five that had a person on the other end of the line. A voice from each phone would give the team member one letter to the word "FRANZ"—a reference to Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka was a culturally influential German-language author of short stories and novels. Contemporary critics and academics, including Vladimir Nabokov, regard Kafka as one of the best writers of the 20th century...
. After obtaining all five letters, the team member had to fill out a form with several biographical questions and attempt to unscramble the five letters to form his name. If they were correct, the inspector would hand them their next clue. In this leg's Detour, teams chose between Legend or Lager. In Legend, teams built a golem
Golem
In Jewish folklore, a golem is an animated anthropomorphic being, created entirely from inanimate matter. The word was used to mean an amorphous, unformed material in Psalms and medieval writing....
by placing wet clay around a hay frame, then transported it to the Old-New Synagogue
Old New Synagogue
The Old New Synagogue situated in Josefov, Prague, is Europe's oldest active synagogue. It is also the oldest surviving medieval synagogue of twin nave design.Completed in 1270 in gothic style, it was one of Prague's first gothic buildings...
. If the golem was to the rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
s' satisfaction, they would hand them their next clue. In Lager
Lager
Lager is a type of beer made from malted barley that is brewed and stored at low temperatures. There are many types of lager; pale lager is the most widely-consumed and commercially available style of beer in the world; Pilsner, Bock, Dortmunder Export and Märzen are all styles of lager...
, teams had to carry a total of 30 glasses of beer from a brewery called Pivovar a Restaurace "U Fleků" through the busy town square and deliver them to a bar named Restaurace Kozička to receive their next clue.
Additional tasks
- At the Kryocentrum, teams had to strip down to their underwear and spend two minutes in a cryotherapyCryotherapyCryotherapy is the local or general use of low temperatures in medical therapy or the removal of heat from a body part. The term "cryotherapy" comes from the Greek cryo meaning cold and the word therapy meaning cure...
chamber which reached temperatures of -160 C. After the two minutes were up, they received their next clue.
Leg 12 (Czech Republic → United States)
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, USA
(McCarran International AirportMcCarran International Airport
McCarran International Airport is the principal commercial airport serving Las Vegas and Clark County, Nevada, United States. The airport is located five miles south of the central business district of Las Vegas, in the unincorporated area of Paradise in Clark County. It covers an area of and...
)
- Las Vegas (Graceland Wedding ChapelGraceland Wedding ChapelGraceland Wedding Chapel is a wedding chapel located in Las Vegas, Nevada that been the site of many celebrity weddings. Opened in the 1950s, it is one of the oldest wedding chapels in Las Vegas, and is known for weddings performed by Elvis Presley impersonators.Presley himself gave the owners of...
) - Las Vegas (Mandalay Bay Resort and CasinoMandalay Bay Resort and CasinoMandalay Bay Resort and Casino is a 44-story luxury hotel casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned by MGM Resorts International. Five floors of the main hotel building are occupied by the five-star and AAA Five-Diamond Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas...
) - Las Vegas (The MirageThe MirageThe Mirage is a 3,044 room hotel and casino resort located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States.The Mirage is connected by a free tram to Treasure Island. The marquee in front of the Mirage is the largest free standing marquee in the world.-History:The Mirage was built by...
) - Las Vegas (Monte Carlo Resort and CasinoMonte Carlo Resort and CasinoThe Monte Carlo Resort and Casino is a megaresort hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, USA. The hotel is 32 stories, featuring a casino floor with over 2,200 slot and video poker machines and 95 table games. It is operated by MGM Resorts International...
) - Las Vegas (MGM Grand Las VegasMGM Grand Las VegasThe MGM Grand Las Vegas is a hotel casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The MGM Grand is the third largest hotel in the world and largest hotel resort complex in the United States in front of The Venetian. The MGM Grand was the largest hotel in the world when it opened in...
) - Las Vegas (Wayne NewtonWayne NewtonWayne Newton is an American singer and entertainer based in Las Vegas, Nevada. He performed over 30,000 solo shows in Las Vegas over a period of over 40 years, earning him the nicknames The Midnight Idol, Mr. Las Vegas and Mr. Entertainment...
's House, the Casa de Shenandoah)
For the season's final Roadblock, one team member had to rappel
Abseiling
Abseiling , rappelling in American English, is the controlled descent down a rock face using a rope; climbers use this technique when a cliff or slope is too steep and/or dangerous to descend without protection.- Slang terms :...
down the exterior of the Mandalay Bay hotel tower face-down in order to retrieve their next clue.
Additional tasks
- At the Mirage's LoveLOVE (Cirque du Soleil)Love is a 2006 theatrical production by Cirque du Soleil which combines the re-produced and re-imagined music of The Beatles with an interpretive, circus-based artistic and athletic stage performance. The show plays at a specially built theatre at The Mirage in Las Vegas.A joint venture between...
theater, one team member was harnessed in a bungee cord and launched by his or her teammate in an attempt to retrieve a bouquet of flowers dangling in the air. Once the entire bouquet was obtained, they had to hand it to an actress acting as a flower girlFlower girlA flower girl is a participant in a wedding procession. Like ring bearers and page boys, flower girls are usually members of the bride's or groom's extended family, but may also be friends.Her male equivalent is the ring bearer or page boy...
to receive their next clue. - The clue received at the end of the bungee cord task instructed teams to go to "the most famous casino in MonacoMonacoMonaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
", and left them to figure out that this was a reference to the namesakeMonte Carlo CasinoThe Monte Carlo Casino is a gambling and entertainment complex located in Monte Carlo, Monaco. It includes a casino, the Grand Théâtre de Monte Carlo, and the office of Les Ballets de Monte Carlo....
of the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino. - At the Monte Carlo, teams had to count out a total of $1,000,000 worth of poker chips which were scattered on several poker tables. Once the dealerCroupierA croupier or dealer is someone appointed at a gambling table to assist in the conduct of the game, especially in the distribution of bets and payouts. Croupiers are typically employed by casinos.-Origin of the word:...
verified their count was correct, they would receive a chip worth $1,000,000 and their final clue. - At the MGM Grand, teams had to find Suite 88 where they would find Wayne NewtonWayne NewtonWayne Newton is an American singer and entertainer based in Las Vegas, Nevada. He performed over 30,000 solo shows in Las Vegas over a period of over 40 years, earning him the nicknames The Midnight Idol, Mr. Las Vegas and Mr. Entertainment...
, who would tell them the location of the Finish Line: his house.
US Nielsen ratings
| # | Episode | Rating | Share | Rating/Share Nielsen Ratings Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States... (18-49) |
Viewers (millions) |
Rank (Overall) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 - 2 | "They Thought Godzilla Was Walking Down the Street" | 6.5 | 10 | 3.3/8 | 10.40 | #25 |
| 3 | "It's Like Being Dropped on Planet Mars" | 5.9 | 9 | 2.8/7 | 9.95 | #26 |
| 4 | "Sean Penn Cambodia Here We Come" | 6.7 | 10 | 3.0/8 | 10.52 | #20 |
| 5 | "I’m Like Ricky Bobby" | 5.8 | 9 | 3.0/7 | 10.92 | #20 |
| 6 | "Do It for the Hood! Do It for the Suburbs!" | 6.4 | 10 | 3.4/8 | 11.20 | #22 |
| 7 | "This Is Not My Finest Hour" | 6.5 | 10 | 3.3/8 | 11.22 | #18 |
| 8 | "This Is the Worst Thing I've Ever Done in My Life" | 6.9 | 10 | 3.5/9 | 11.62 | #24 |
| 9 | "We’re Not Meant for the Swamp" | 6.6 | 10 | 3.2/8 | 11.39 | #24 |
| 10 | "We're Not Working With Anybody, Ever, Anymore!" | 6.9 | 11 | 3.7/9 | 12.19 | #20 |
| 11 | "It Starts With an “F”, That’s All I’m Saying" | 6.8 | 10 | 3.4/8 | 11.61 | #18 |
| 12 | "Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound" | 7.1 | 11 | 3.7/9 | 12.32 | #9 |
Canadian ratings
| # | Episode | Viewers (millions) |
Rank (Overall) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 - 2 | "They Thought Godzilla Was Walking Down the Street" | 2.861 | #6 |
| 3 | "It's Like Being Dropped on Planet Mars" | 2.669 | #5 |
| 4 | "Sean Penn Cambodia Here We Come" | 2.001 | #13 |
| 5 | "I'm Like Ricky Bobby" | 2.413 | #9 |
| 6 | "Do It for the Hood! Do It for the Suburbs!" | 2.619 | #5 |
| 7 | "This Is Not My Finest Hour" | 2.575 | #3 |
| 8 | "This Is the Worst Thing I've Ever Done in My Life" | 2.763 | #3 |
| 9 | "We’re Not Meant for the Swamp" | 2.619 | #8 |
| 10 | "We're Not Working With Anybody, Ever, Anymore!" | 2.260 | #9 |
| 11 | "It Starts With an “F”, That’s All I’m Saying" | 2.419 | #7 |
| 12 | "Amazing Grace, How Sweet the Sound" | 3.074 | #1 |
Awards
In 2010, The Amazing Race 15 was nominated for a GLAAD Media AwardGLAAD Media Awards
The GLAAD Media Award is an accolade bestowed by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation to recognize and honor various branches of the media for their outstanding representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and the issues that affect their lives...
for "Outstanding Reality Program" during the 21st GLAAD Media Awards
21st GLAAD Media Awards
The 21st GLAAD Media Awards was the 2010 annual presentation of the media awards presented by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. The awards seek to honor films, television shows, musicians and works of journalism that fairly and accurately represent the LGBT community and issues...
.