Racing Through China - and the U-Turns Don't Hurt, But the Dinosaurs Do!

We begin this week’s episode with everyone still racing - and Kynt & Vyxsin are way, way behind all the teams after missing their flight out of Japan by getting lost on the way to the airport last week. They seemed to be making up some time, but when it goes wrong, it goes really wrong, and they’ve left their fanny pack with their money and passports on the gondola. They were getting pretty close to Zev & Justin after the Chinese Zodiac fiasco - but now what? Although a double-leg can be pretty exhausting, maybe, just maybe, they’ll be able to stay in it.

We see Zev & Justin on the Mat with Phil, who tells them they are still in the Race, and “as a matter of fact, you’re still racing.” They must take a train back to Kunming and then travel to Dounan Flower Market for their next clue. Kynt & Vyxsin get back to the gondolas and after riding back to the top, find that someone has turned in their fanny pack. Vyxsin says that sometimes “there are screws loose” in their brains.

Margie & Luke are at the train station at noon, and find out the next train leaves at 7:05 p.m. (So much for the lead!) Kynt & Vyxsin get to the Detour and choose to make the candy rather than trying to navigate through the streets (good idea). When they get to Phil, they are told that they’re still racing - BUT! They took the wrong flight and have incurred a 30-minute penalty, which they will wait out when they get to the next Pit Stop. (I swear, if they manage to stay in this Race with everything that’s gone wrong in this leg, they have somebody watching over them!) As they read their clue, we find out there’s a double U-Turn on this next leg.

As the teams wait around at the train station, Jet & Cord see a basketball hoop and since Flight Time & Big Easy have a basketball, they get a game going. Jet, Flight Time and Kisha will play against Cord, Big Easy and Jen. Cara & Jaime were performing cheers on the sideline, and there were a whole lot of locals watching. It looked like great fun, as we see Flight Time shoot a basket after he put the ball on the back of his neck! Kynt & Vyxsin show up and are immediately quizzed by the other teams. Kynt tells the teams their car broke down and they missed the flight in Japan. Mallory asks if they’re getting a penalty and Vyxsin tells her “we still don’t know what they’re going to do.” The teams all start talking among themselves that they should have received a penalty. Everyone is back together and leaving on the same train. The rooms in the train have bunks three high, and Zev & Justin are up on the highest one, saying that being up there gives them less chance of getting murdered. (Reading too many spy novels, guys!)

Once in Kunming, Ron & Christina tell their cabbie in Chinese to go fastest, and Zev & Justin are content to follow their cab. The flower market reminds me a bit of Eastern Market. Kisha & Jen get the clue first, which tells them to taxi to the Golden Horse & Jade Cock Memorial Arches to find the next clue. There are a lot of teams showing up at the flower market at once - the Cowboys, Globetrotters, Kynt & Vyxsin, Gary & Mallory, and Jaime & Cara. Each of them tells their cabbie to wait (I see a problem brewing). As they find the clue and get back to the cabs, the Globetrotters are the last team to find the clue and there is one less cab waiting - the Cowboys take off knowing they’ve taken someone’s cab, and it seems to be our basketball stars. They manage to find one after a little searching.

The clue at the Arches is a Detour. Honor the Past or Embrace the Future. For Honor the Past, they will watch a traditional Tibetan performance and count on their powers of memory. After the performance (and without taking notes) they will have to arrange dolls representing all the characters in the performance in the order they appeared on stage to get their next clue. Embrace the Future has the teams offloading a solar heating system, carrying it to the roof of a building and properly installing it to get their clue from the supervisor. Neither sounds easy!

Ron & Christina and Zev & Justin will Honor the Past, while Margie & Luke will Embrace the Future. Kisha & Jen will try the memory task. Jet & Cord and Gary & Mallory get to the Arches, and see a McDonald’s - thinking that the clue box will be by those “golden arches.” Flight Time & Big Easy will build the solar heating system. At the Tibetan performance, they must dress in costumes which include a headdress that is basically a graduation cap with a large circle on top and long fringe hanging off all around it. We see Margie & Luke get to the building and grab a large box to take to the roof - and they must use the stairs!!!! This is a really evil task to make them do after no Pit Stop, little sleep and little food. Evil, I tell you!

Jaime & Cara and Kynt & Vyxsin will try the solar panels, along with Jet & Cord. Gary & Mallory and Jen & Kisha go off to try their memories. At the performance, Zev & Justin get their first guess of dolls wrong, but go back to check and get the clue first, which tells them to go to the place in the photo they are given, which is the Chinese Minority Heritage Center. There is a double U-Turn waiting for them there. Kisha & Jen get their clue and join Zev & Justin in the street asking locals about the photo. Ron & Christina are wrong on their first try also but figure it out and see the other two teams still there. Zev asks if Christina knows what it is, and she says yes, telling the cab driver to go to the Yunnan Province Cultural Center. Might be the same place, might not.....

Margie & Luke finish their task as Cara & Jaime and Kynt & Vyxsin show up to start assembling. Jet & Cord get there too and begin lugging the equipment up the stairs as Kynt & Vyxsin squabble as they build. (Well, actually, it’s just Vyxsin trying to push Kynt around, yelling that he’s going too slow). Jaime & Cara are the next to finish.

Ron & Christina’s cab stops and the two teams following get out, racing around to try to find the clue box. Christina realizes that the cabbie took them to the Kunming Cultural Center and everyone gets back into their cabs to race to the correct spot, hoping that no other teams get there first. However, that’s not to be as Margie & Luke show up, grab their clue and tells us they will not U-Turn anyone. The clue says they have to find the Stone Forest, where their next clue is.

Jaime & Cara get to the Heritage Center next, but Jet & Cord find the clue box before they do. They also choose not to U-Turn anyone, and then tell Kynt & Vyxsin where the clue box is. They get to the clue box barely before Jaime & Cara, and decide to U-Turn the Globetrotters with urging from Jaime & Cara. Unfortunately for the Cheerleaders, Kynt decides to U-Turn them, apologizing as they run off, saying “sorry, guys, it’s the only way we’re gonna survive.” They remembered that on their last Race, they U-Turned a team that was already ahead of them, and Kynt knew 100% that the redheads were behind them. Jaime & Cara U-Turned the Globetrotters and took off to do the other task, hoping that they could sail through it and get on with the Race.

Zev & Justin, Ron & Christina, and Kisha & Jen catch up to Kynt & Vyxsin and Jet & Cord at the U-Turn, where Vyxsin says her cab driver knows where the Stone Forest is, so everyone will follow them. Gary & Mallory tag along in this caravan also. Jaime & Cara get to the theater as the Globetrotters find out they’ve been U-Turned and head to the theater also. The Cheerleaders manage to finish before they show up.

We see Jen & Kisha telling their cabbie to lose the other cabs, and Zev & Justin’s cab can’t keep up. They are aggravated that they didn’t stick with Ron & Christina. The Globetrotters make quick work of the dolls and take off, as we see Jaime & Cara’s cab having to stop for gas. Gary & Mallory are following Zev & Justin, who are not sure their cab is going the right way. Kisha & Jen get to the Stone Forest and their Roadblock clue asks “Who’s ready for a task 1000 years in the making?” This is a place where scientists found the largest amount of dinosaur relics in China. The team member doing the task must reconstruct a 20-foot dinosaur correctly to get their clue from the paleontologist. Kisha, Margie, and Christina will attempt the task. Kynt will do the task also, and Vyxsin hugs Kisha as they wait. Kisha asks why they U-Turned, and Vyxsin spills the beans that they have a 30-minute penalty to make up, telling Kisha that they didn’t want to lie, but just “fudged the truth a little bit.” Ron overhears and will tuck that away for future reference, saying that they are like Kibuki dancers, lying and hiding behind their masks.

Flight Time & Big Easy pass Jaime & Cara on the freeway, as we see Zev & Justin and Gary & Mallory stop and try to figure out where to go. Justin grabs a rock and shows his driver, then points to a tree, and the driver seems to get his meaning. Jet & Cord get to the dig site, and Jet will attempt this task also. Big Easy, and then Jaime will do it, and then Justin and Gary get to the site and will attempt it also. After looking at all the other teams there, and the task at hand, Gary & Mallory pull out the Express Pass and get their next clue. It allows them to skip the task and go to the next Pit Stop, which is Green Lake Park in Kunming.

Christina is told mid-build that her dinosaur is unstable. Kynt’s dinosaur is finished, but wrong. Jet is given the okay on his and off go the Cowboys. Flight Time asks Cara what the deal was with the U-Turn, and she says it started with Kynt & Vyxsin U-Turning them. Vyxsin then tells Flight Time that they had to make up for their 30-minute penalty, and Flight Time says “okay then, as long as you weren’t being mean.” He adds that he thinks the Redheads were being mean.

Jet & Cord manage to pass up Gary & Mallory, whose cab left. Margie & Luke get their clue after Margie’s successful build. At the park, Gary & Mallory arrive to see the Cowboys and it’s a mad dash to Phil at the Mat, which Jet & Cord win handily and get $5000 as their first-place prize.

Vyxsin is watching Kynt get another “no” on his build and sweating that they have to make it 30 minutes ahead of another team - and then Kynt’s stepladder collapses and sends him flying to the ground. All the others are having major problems assembling their dinosaurs as well, putting stuff in and taking it out. Jaime is exhausted and Kynt and Christina figure out what’s wrong with theirs. Kisha manages to finish hers correctly and gets the clue. Kynt then manages to get his correctly and off they go. In the parking lot, Kisha & Jen find out that their cab has left them and Kynt & Vyxsin leave ahead of them. Big Easy finishes his dinosaur and the Globetrotters take off celebrating - they got U-Turned and are still in the Race. Margie & Luke check in with Phil in third. Kynt & Vyxsin find out they’re the 4th team, but have to sit for 30 minutes before they can be checked in. They see Kisha & Jen get to the Mat, who are checked in 4th by Phil. Flight Time & Big Easy show up at the park as Kynt & Vyxsin’s penalty is up and Kynt & Vyxsin get 5th, with the Globetrotters 6th.

Christina finishes her dinosaur leaving Justin and Jaime as the last two at the Stone Forest. Justin gets a “no” from the paleontologist, and so does Jaime. Justin fixes his dinosaur and gets their clue, as Jaime realizes the wrong piece will make her take apart most of her dinosaur and is thinking she doesn’t have the strength to do it. Cara is thinking that their time on the Race is done.

Ron & Christina beat Zev & Justin to the Mat by a step, getting them 7th and 8th respectively. Back at the Stone Forest, Jaime is getting the dinosaur reconstructed with sore shoulders and total exhaustion, not willing to quit. They end up at the Mat where Phil tells them they’ve been eliminated. Sorry, Chris, and I’m not happy about it either!

Next week the teams are in Calcutta, India - which Zev calls “Cal-Crazy.” Tune in for our next elimination (or not)!

1 - Jet & Cord
2 - Gary & Mallory
3 - Margie & Luke
4 - Kisha & Jen
5 - Kynt & Vyxsin
6 - Flight Time & Big Easy
7 - Ron & Christina
8 - Zev & Justin
9 - Jaime & Cara - eliminated