We're still in Abu Dhabi, which means more shots of that city's exotic skyline, accompanied by music on the soundtrack that could have been lifted from Argo. The voice of Phil tells us, "This is the United Arab Emirates. Located on the Arabian Peninsula, more than 80 percent of it is covered in sand." Yes, Phil, you mentioned that last week. Better hope they're not sensitive about it. "And towering four thousand feet above the desert," he adds, "is Jebel Hafeet." He's perched Probst-like on a steep slope near a peak as he says this is now the start of the ninth leg in a race around the world. Even though it's technically not. But first, we get to watch Nicole & Travis check out a couple of the cars they won at the end of last week's leg. You and the sponsor who provided the vehicles will be pleasantly surprised to hear that the ER docs have only nice things to say about them.

Then they open their clue at 12:38 AM, with the hotel in the background showing purple lights drifting across its surface. This would be the Yas Viceroy that was the site of the final Roadblock from two legs ago, so it looks like they spent the night here instead of at the Mercure Grand where they checked in at the end of the previous leg. At least we got to see it lit up, briefly and in part. The first clue is telling them to fly to Bandung, Indonesia. Phil says that's more than four thousand miles, as always making it sound as if anybody cares about geographical miles when it comes to air travel. Phil needs to start telling us flight statistics we can relate to, like length of delays, number of hours in the air, proximity to the nearest crying baby, and what percentage of the flight the asshole in front of you had their seat reclined. Bandung looks pretty busy on the ground, and the teams will have to find a place called the Ram Arena in a nearby village to get their next clue. Nicole & Travis get a cab outside the hotel, and now, at this late date, is when we find out that they're all into God and stuff. "We want to be a beacon for God's light to show through us," Travis interviews, "so that people can see that you don't have to resort to lying or cheating or stealing or doing any of those things that we just consider not a good part of anybody's life." Wow, humble.

Jason & Amy are leaving in second place, as usual, at 12:52 AM. Amy interviews that they want to continue to ally with Nicole & Travis and play like them, too. Do they know about the God thing? In the taxi to the airport, Jason asks Amy, "What kind of people live in Indonesia? …Like Chinese people or like, Indians?" Amy can't even look at him without cracking up. Which is a kinder response than that question deserves, if you ask me.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14Next