The four remaining teams take off from the previous Pit Stop in Shanghai and receive a clue telling them to travel by train 800 miles to Xi'an where they must then find the Drum Tower. They then take part in a Detour which involves either choosing the Spray task (traveling 34 miles and then spray-painting a car) or the Scroll task (traveling 31 miles and searching for Chinese characters in bolts of fabric.) All teams choose to spray the cars and then travel 40 miles to the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses Museum. One team misdirects another but in the end, all travel to a Roadblock at the North Peak where one team member must be very methodical to find a key to a lock. Some team members allow themselves to become extremely frustrated, leading to a surprise for this leg. One team is penalized for not attempting to complete the Roadblock and are eliminated leaving
the final three.
The four remaining teams take off from Lion's Rock in Sri Lanka and learn that they must fly to Shanghai, China. The teams catch the same flights via Hong Kong and then through to Shanghai which arrives later that night. The teams face communication difficulties while trying to grab taxis to get to Yu Yuan Gardens. The teams eventually arrive and discover that they must wait until the next morning for it to open. The teams are then instructed to make their way by taxi to Huaneng Union Tower where one team decides to use the third and final Yield on another. Next, a Roadblock has team members lowering down a building while making sure to locate a hidden message printed half way down and then teams must use this to reveal to a man at the bottom to get their next clue. Next, the teams travel by taxis to the Monument of the People's Heroes on Shanghai's most popular mile, the Bund. There, teams must search through a group of Tai Chi performers for the one with their next clue. Teams then make their way to the docks of Shanghai where they encounter a Detour. One involves "Bricks," a more physical task, while other as "Ice" which requires transporting ice and then breaking it into small parts. No one chose to do "Ice." The teams then rush to get to the next Pit Stop, the Peace Hotel South. In the end, one team is only just late by a few minutes and arrives last. Although fearing the worst, they are not eliminated, as this is the last of three pre-determined non-elimination legs. However, Phil tell us someone will fall victim to the final elimination on the next leg.
The five remaining teams receive a clue in Ethiopia telling them to travel by a charter flight to Addis Ababa and then make their way to the Ethiopian stadium. Once there, all teams take part in a four-person relay race, teaming up with pairs of Ethiopian runners. Next, the teams make their way to Colombo in Sri Lanka, 3,600 miles away. There, the teams make their way by tuk tuk to their next clue where they encounter a Detour - "Tree Trunks" or "Elephant Trunks." Most teams complete "Tree Trunks" which involves climbing and careful balancing. The "Elephant Trunks" task requires patience while playing croquet and riding on an elephant. Once completed, the teams make their way to Kandi and from there, a clue tells them to make their way to Lion Rock. In this Roadblock, one person must climb a thousand steps to the top of a mountain and then use binoculars to search for the location of the next Pit Stop. After another very unfortunate mistake, one team is eliminated from the race, leaving only four remaining.
The teams continue from their Pit Stop on the island of Corsica, France to the town of Nice by ferry, where they then receive a clue telling them to get to Addis Ababa in Africa by plane.
The teams tussle for flights at the airport, but chartered planes place them all no more than within a half-hour's distance of each other.
Once in Addis Ababa, they receive a clue telling them that they must direct their taxi drivers to Lewz Village. Once they accomplish this, they find a Detour that involves two Ethiopian activities: Raise the Roof or Mud the Flat. In Raise the Roof, teams must carry a thatched roof two-thirds of a mile with the help of locals. In Mud the hut, teams had to successfully mud a hut until it was completely covered with mud. The first option seems to be the faster choice as one team member injures herself by cutting her fingers while Mudding the hut. Another person suffers from a mild asthma attack.
The six remaining teams continue from their Pit Stop in Budapest, Hungary, where they receive a clue telling them to find the area's largest wine cast. Once they find that, they must travel to the city of Ajaccio on the island of Corsica. some teams experience flight difficulties, but all teams manage to make the same flight in the end. Once in Corsica the teams had to find the room where Napoleon was born. When they arrive teams discovered that it didn't open until the next morning so they slept on the beach. After it opens, teams discover the second of only two Fast Forwards on the race. In order to retrieve the Fast Forward award, both team members must walk the ocean floor wearing special diving suits to find the clue hidden in a trap underneath the water. Two teams try the Fast Forward, with one eventually claiming it and scoring a special plane ride.
The teams receive a clue over the Internet at the Net Klub Cafe and opening times allow Lori and Bolo to catch up.
The race continues at the Heritage Rail Museum where one racer is sent into a fury after being hit in the head by a gate. Once teams were signed in by order of departure, they had to ride a train down an old track to receive their next clue. Teams discover a Fast Forward clue, this is is the first of only two on this season and teams were could only use it once during the race. In this Fast Forward teams had to take part in the Legend of the Vampire, drink a glass of pig's blood in order to retrieve the Fast Forward award. One team successfully completed it allowing them to go directly to the next Pit Stop.
A holiday clip show reviews the season so far and gives viewers a look at never before seen footage, including material that builds on previous scenes and completely new material, such as:
- A team loses a clue within the first few minutes of the race
- A team puts on make-up in preparation for meeting Phil at the Pit Stop, as they consider him a act
- A starving team member uses her looks to gain free food
- Struggling with the "notoriously unreliable local cars," many teams have trouble filling up the gas tanks
The remaining seven teams continue racing in Germany where a Roadblock has them bungee-jumping. One team-member nearly passes out from exhaustion but is okay and continues on with the race. The teams fly next 450 miles to Budapest, Hungary. Once there, hijinks ensue when the teams are forced to travel in local cars that are notorious for their unreliability. Many teams have breakdowns and are forced to get new cars, or have mechanical work done. Once they've navigated their way, they arrive at a Detour: Catapault Crash or Cannonball Run. Immediately, the second Detour proves to be much easier than the first. After the teams complete the Detour, they receive a clue telling them to catch a train into Budapest, then travel by taxi to the Net Klub Internet Cafe where they'll receive an online clue. By the end of the episode, one team couldn't catch a train into Budapest until the next day so they were far behind. The other six teams had arrived at the cafe, which hadn't yet opened.
The eight teams take off from their Pit Stop in Africa, first traveling to a slave-house where slaves were held until heading to the New World. There, a memorial to those slaves particularly touches Gus and has him appreciating the human aspect of The Amazing Race. One team in particular had no money to begin with because of their penalty in the previous leg so they had to ask the locals of Goree for money before leaving the island. Next, the teams fly to Germany where they search for a clue along the remains of the Berlin Wall. After some teams have confusion about finding the clue, they travel to a statue of busted chains near a church that was partially destroyed in World War II. There, A Detour has teams choose between linking sausages or going to a brauhaus to search for their pictures on coasters and exchanging them for cups of beer at a brauhaus. Both choices were challenging and required high team work. Soon, the teams encounter a Roadblock in which one member must race a soapbox car down a mountain finishing before 37 seconds. The next clue instructed teams to find the next Pit Stop located at the Brandenburg Gate. On the way, one team remains in last place but another makes a costly mistake before the Roadblock resulting in a tense foot-race to the finish. In the end, one team member yells at his partner about losing causing some major stress while another is too late to check in and are eliminated.
The eight teams continue on to Stockholm's Town hall tower and from there they were instructed to fly 3,500 miles to Dakar, Senegal in Africa.
Once there, the teams must find a grave site of a famous poet and some fall slightly behind for a while on a bit of bad information. Some teams had money issues with the taxi drivers.
Later, they face a Detour in which they must choose between Stack 'Em Up or Pull 'Em Up. Both choices involved fish. Stack 'Em Up, which involves stacking the fish in a pile, seems to be the faster choice, but a few teams opt for the fishing and fall behind because of seasickness.
Later, a Roadblock involves hauling salt out of a red lake called Lac Rose.
The teams were then told to travel by ferry to the island of Goree, where they must search for the next pit stop. The race to avoid elimination was close between two teams. In the end, one team was unable to catch up and checked in last place. They received a huge surprise when Phil informed them that this was the first of several non elimination rounds so they're still in the game, but they have been stripped of all money and will not be receiving any for the upcoming leg.
