The Amazing Race 15, Episode 5: A Nice Glass of Whine

Previously on Next Let’s Ask Sam & Dan If They Know Where Latin America Is, eight teams raced from Cambodia to Dubai. Meghan & Cheyne (well, Cheyne – Meghan didn’t have to do anything) took the race’s only Fast Forward and easily came in first. Herb & Nate were helpful. There’s no mention of Brian being too helpful. Lance & Keri were eliminated, but no one was sad. Tonight, Mika wears pink swimmies and acts like a six-year-old while Canaan acts like… well, like a six-year-old.

I hope you like Dubai, because we’re not leaving it this week. At 8:17 a.m., Meghan & Cheyne are sent to a yacht club with a briefcase. Ooh, sounds mysterious. Meghan interviews that there are a lot of stressful decisions to make on the race. This is the most stressed she’s ever felt, which Cheyne says is pretty big. In their cab, they talk about how bright the sun is, and how tan the people in Dubai must be in the wintertime.

At the yacht club, the team quickly comes across a Roadblock, when sends one team member to a yacht in a dinghy. On the yacht is a sheikh who will hand over a watch. The time on the watch is the combination to the briefcase, which contains the next clue. Cheyne takes the Roadblock, explaining to us that he has boating experience.

Brian & Ericka are in second place, and Brian says that Ericka may be a pageant girl, but she can get dirty if she needs to. Ericka laughs that she starts all made up and it all comes off during the day. Meanwhile, Cheyne is rowing his dinghy and singing to himself. Cue “Sweet Georgia Brown” as Herb & Nate leave. Nate says “hot” a bunch of times because, well, it’s hot. I love them.

Cheyne gets his watch as Gary & Matt leave the Pit Stop. Matt says this is the longest they’ve ever been together. That’s sad. At least it’s going well. Apparently Matt brought some hair dye with him, and Gary helped him with it last night.

Cheyne takes the watch back to Meghan and they quickly use it to open the briefcase. The clue inside sends them to the Abra Station, a water-taxi port. Meghan wants to make Cheyne wait to put his shoes on in the car, but he takes a couple seconds and does it. She can calm down a little, I think. Not long after, Brian & Ericka arrive, and Brian takes the Roadblock, though he doesn’t seem to know what he’s doing.

Sam & Dan leave, telling us they still have an alliance with Maria & Tiffany. They think they can outrun the poker girls if it comes down to it. In fact, they think they can outrun any time except Herb & Nate. Speaking of the Globetrotters, they’re in the wrong place. Brian is, though, and has his watch. Ericka’s proud of how quickly he did the task. They also have no trouble opening the briefcase. Brian’s hands are bleeding a little, but Ericka’s equipped with Band-Aids.

Gary & Matt are at the dinghies, and Gary takes the Roadblock. He hasn’t rowed for a while. Meghan & Cheyne are at the water-taxi port, and now they have to do a Detour. The choices are Gold and Glass. In Gold, teams find a jewelry store and use a scale to weigh $500,000 worth of gold. This means using the gold-exchange rate, which changes constantly. In Glass, teams go to a spice market and assemble 12 hookahs. Meghan & Cheyne decide that Gold is too confusing, so they’re going for Glass. They enjoy the mixture of old and new in Dubai.

Gary reaches the yacht without incident and returns to Matt as Maria & Tiffany leave. They feel like spies with their briefcase. Mika & Canaan leave last, and she says that he’s a lot more competitive than she is. Matt & Gary get their clue and wonder how the Globetrotters will do in the little dinghy. Nate wonders, too, since he’s doing the task and quickly regrets agreeing to row the dinghy. Herb encourages him to use one paddle at a time. Nate jokes in an interview that you can’t row down the Mississippi River.

At the spice market, Meghan & Cheyne retain their lead by quickly finding the location of their Detour and getting right to work. She seems to take charge a little, but he thinks she needs to calm down. I think she’s fine, but what do I know? Brian & Ericka get to the Detour clue box and choose Gold. Herb yells to Nate that he’s going down in history as “the biggest man ever in a lifeboat made for a five-year-old.” Dan takes the Roadblock for the brothers, providing another amusing sight.

Meghan’s getting frustrated, so Cheyne tells her again to calm down. Is this the most trouble they’re going to have on the race? I bet it is. Ericka & Brian are at Gold and start trying to do math. Yeah, this would not be a good task for me. As Nate returns to Herb with his watch, Herb yells for him to “do it for the hood!” Sam yells to Dan, “Do it for the suburbs!” Heh. As Maria & Tiffany arrive and Tiffany takes the Roadblock, Nate tries to figure out the briefcase combo but is unable to correctly read the watch. Dan, however, gets the combo right away and heads off with Sam. They’re happy to be ahead of the Globetrotters, who they want gone.

Tiffany’s happy to be doing something the guys did. Yay, you rowed a dinghy. They’re crowning you queen next week. And I don’t mean Queen Jackie Kennedy. Mika & Canaan are at the Roadblock, which Canaan takes. Soon everyone has a watch, but Nate still can’t get the combination right. The poker girls pass him, which has to hurt. Herb encourages Nate not to give up. I don’t think that idea even occurred to Nate.