- The ten remaining teams travel from Juyongguan, China to Terelj, Mongolia. One team goes into an emotional tailspin after being thrown from their horse. Alliances start to form between several of the teams.
- When the teams reached the Pit Stop, they faced a mandatory 12 hour rest period, during which they could eat, sleep or mingle with the other teams. Models and friends Tyler & James, who were the first to arrive at 9:04 am, were the first to depart at 9:04 pm. They opened their clue and learned that they would have to travel 963 miles by bus and train deep into Mongolia's barren landscape to its capital city, Ulan Bator, where they had to find the Choijin Lama Temple and observe a ceremony there before they received their next clue.
When they arrived at the bus station, they happily signed up for a midnight bus to the train station. Also signing up for the same bus were father and daughter Duke & Lauren, friends Peter & Sarah, dating couple Rob & Kimberly and beauty queens Dustin & Kandice. The other five teams signed up for a second bus that departed at 2 am, and while some of them were understandably concerned at the deficit they were giving the first teams, many remained positive just because of the company that they would keep. Boyfreinds Tom & Terry never imagined that there would be such bonding in a short period of time - they had great competitors and were having fun, and they remarked "there is power in this back pack". Mary, the wife of coalminer David, was making friends with people that she never thought she would meet in this world. She had never known an Asian person and never been around gay people, but she liked the Cho brothers, Erwin & Godwin.
The five leading teams arrived at the Erlain train station in Erenhot, China, where they booked tickets on a 4 pm train to Ulan Bator, Mongolia. Peter & Sarah took in some sunshine on the steps of the station, while locals gathered staring amazed at Sarah's mechanical leg. Peter, never one to pass up an opportunity to use Sarah's physical disability to their advantage, tried unsuccessfuly to charge them a fee to see her run and perform with the leg. When the second bus arrived at the station, the "back pack" were all excited to book tickets on the same train as the first group.
All ten teams arrived at Ulan Bator, Mongolia, and made a mad dash for taxis to take them to the Choijin Lama Temple as fast as possible. Peter & Sarah and Duke & Lauren got an early jump on the other teams, but their taxi drivers both took a "short cut" that proved to be otherwise, and it was Tom & Terry and cheerleaders Kellie & Jamie who were the first to arrive at the temple, where they spotted a sign stating that performances would commence every ten minutes. Rob & Kimberly soon joined them in time for the first performance of a traditional Mongolian dance which featured ornate masks and vibrant, rich colours. The cheerleaders danced to the beat as they enjoyed every minute of their experience of seeing cultures of other people that they didn't get to see every day. At the end of the short performance, the three teams received a clue to drive an old Russian military jeep 43 miles to the village of Terelj and make their way to the riverbank, where a Mongolian nomad would lead them on a 2½ mile horseback ride to a meadow where they would find their next clue.
The three teams quickly squandered their small 10 minute lead when they all became lost trying to leave Ulan Bator's city limits for the expansive and desolate countryside. In doing so, they allowed Peter & Sarah and Dustin & Kandice to take the lead when, having received their clue at the end of the second performance, they wisely asked for directions to Terelj before they left the temple. Coalminer and wife David & Mary went a step further by enticing a local man to drive with them. Initially, the couple vaulted up to third, but when they became stuck in a bog of mud that the local directed them squarely into, they were forced to call for a replacement vehicle and fell back to ninth. David tried unsuccessfully to remove their vehicle from the bog and absorbed Mary's relentless criticism of his attempts, completely unbothered by them even though she was always right, no matter what.
Erwin & Godwin received some great directions after the performance that they observed, and while they were among the last to leave the Ulan Bator station, they moved up to third on the drive to Terelj. Meanwhile, other teams were continuing to have problems. Although Kellie & Jamie continually stopped to ask for directions, they still appeared to struggle with comprehending how to leave the crowded city streets. Tyler & James had survived a bad taxi ride that resulted in them attending the last performance, but their struggles continued on the quiet country highway to Terelj when their jeep's tyre blew out, and they were unable to use their jack. When Rob & Kimberly stopped to help them, they saw a glimmer of hope, but it vanished when the dating couple found out that their own jack was lodged firmly in their back seat. Tyler & James tried to get single mothers Lyn & Karlyn to stop when they saw them approaching, but they kept on driving, with Karlyn not even being sorry about it - she reasoned that she wasn't being mean, she just wanted to win. A well dressed local finally helped Tyler & James to change their tyre. Kellie & Jamie had their own car troubles - their jeep stalled while it slowly climbed a hill, causing driver Kellie to panic, but Jamie did her best to keep her friend calm, and when Kellie got the jeep started again, Jamie clapped and cheered.
Sarah, having switched from her running leg to her walking foot, had no problems riding her horse to the meadow, but the same couldn't be said for Kandice, who fell off her horse on the ride, but stood up, dusted herself off and assured a concered Dustin that she was OK. Peter & Sarah were the first to find the clue box in the meadow, and found that they had arrived at a Detour where the choices were Take It Down or Fill It Up. Here, teams that chose Take It Down had to take down the canvas walls and roof of a gir, a traditional Mongolian nomadic shelter, fold the materials properly and pack them on a camel in order to receive their next clue. Teams that chose Fill It Up had to take a cart pulled by a hynik, an indigenous animal, to a river, fill some metal jugs with water, return to the nomad camp and use the jugs to fill a barrel. When the water level in the barrel passed a marked line, a nomad would give them their next clue.
Peter & Sarah chose Take It Down, but had difficulty with properly tying up the canvas walls, which caused their relationship to show some signs of strain when Peter chided Sarah for talking to herself, leading Sarah to apologise to him. When other teams arrived and decided to fill up the barrels of water, a reluctant Peter & Sarah decided to switch tasks, but the other option proved to be no better for them when their hynik became obstinate, not liking to be led anywhere. Tears fell from Sarah as she picked up stray jugs from behind the cart. When Peter couldn't control either Sarah or their hynik, he didn't want to continue until Sarah calmed down. When their hynik ran away another time, they decided to return to packing the camel, this time being more determined not to give up.
Dustin & Kandice had a much better relationship with their hynik, quickly filling their barrel to be the first team to complete the Detour, but their enjoyment was short-lived when, after reading their clue that directed them to drive 47 miles to the Hotel Mongolia, Kandice realised that she had lost the helmet that she needed in order to ride her horse back to where their jeep was parked. She cried as one team after another completed the Detour and mounted their horses to return to their jeeps. After seven of the teams had left, a nomad found the missing helmet, and the bashful hero received a big hug from a grateful Kandice.
There were difficulties for Rob & Kimberly in the Mongolian countryside, which began when Kimberly fell off her horse on the way to the meadow, while Rob looked on uncertain about what he should do. The constant bickering of the pair at the Detour led to a big fight where Kimberly yelled to Rob to stop yelling at her and let her get through the task. In spite of these troubles, they didn't lose any places.
Single mothers Lyn & Karlyn also had problems with tying up the canvas walls when they chose to Take It Down at the Detour. They decided to switch tasks, which left them in a battle with Kellie & Jamie for last place. The two teams completed the Fill It Up task at around the same time and raced back to their jeeps, only to discover that both of their batteries were flat. They raced to look for assistance with getting their jeeps started, and Kellie & Jamie were the first to get a local to fix their jeep, allowing them to leave the parking lot in ninth. Soon after, Lyn & Karlyn found someone to help them, and the two teams met again on the way to the Hotel Mongolia when they passed each other going in opposite directions, after Kellie & Jamie had been instructed by a local to turn around.
There was another close race at the other end of the pack when Peter & Sarah and Tyler & James arrived at the Hotel Mongolia at the same, and opened up their clues to discover a Road Block, where one person from each team had to shoot a flaming arrow 160 feet to ignite a target. Once the target burst into flames, the team would receive their next clue.
The gap among the leaders soon opened up when Peter hit the target on his second attempt, even before the slower Tyler was ready to fire his first shot. Peter & Sarah received a clue to run to the Pit Stop at a pavillion on a hill, and soon stepped onto the mat in first place, finding out from host Phil Keoghan that they had won a Travelocity trip for two to Playa del Carma, in the heart of the lush paradise of Mexico. During their rest period, Sarah commented that there were things she was learning about Peter, but she wasn't always impressed with them, and she was making notes, but no judgements.
Tyler & James, Duke & Lauren and Tom & Terry claimed the next three places, before Dustin & Kandice recovered some of their lost time to finish fifth, ahead of the stll bickering Rob & Kim, and David & Mary. A stalled jeep caused Erwin & Godwin to fall four places and finish eighth, leaving Kellie & Jamie and Lyn & Karlyn as the only teams yet to finish. Kellie & Jamie realised that they had made a mistake in going the wrong way after the Detour, remarking that today was their stupid day. Lyn & Karlyn arrived at the Road Block in ninth. Lyn didn't appreciate Karlyn's advice when she had problems with shooting her arrow, but she eventually hit the target and both single mothers were relieved soon after when they arrived at the mat in ninth.
Kellie shot several arrows in a vain attempt to hit the target at the Road Block, but the setting sun made it harder and harder for her to see the target she was aiming for. Eventually, the cheerleaders decided to quit and walked to the Pit Stop, where Phil informed them that they had been eliminated from the race. Jamie reflected that on the race, she and Kellie had both learned to rely on each other, and that was why they had bonded so much, and would be friends for life. Kellie was glad that she and Jamie got to do the race together as the experience had brought them closer.
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