The Amazing Race 10, Episode 5: Drive Me Crazy

Previously on Slow Boat to Vietnam: I don’t know because thanks to football, 60 Minutes went late and I didn’t tune in to The Amazing Race until Phil was saying that seven teams remain. So I’ll make up my own previouslies: Peter was a jerk, Sarah is starting to get it, Rob & Kimberly need to be quiet, Dustin & Kandice are the most mature fighters ever, and Tom & Terry were eliminated. I also failed to mention that I loved Erwin’s “let’s hug it out” T-shirt. Anything you want to know beyond that… well, that’s why we have recaps! As Phil said, there are seven teams left:

Rob & Kimberly - Dating/Could use some shutting up right about now

Peter & Sarah - Recently dating/Sentimental favorites (well, not him)/DUMP HIM NOW, SARAH!

Tyler & James (Team Zoolander) - Models/recovering drug addicts/I can’t really tell them apart

Erwin & Godwin (Team ErGo) - Brothers/Let’s put those muscles to good use, guys!

Mary & David - Married/Sentimental favorites/Still awesome

Lyn & Karlyn (Team Dublyn) - Friends/Okay, you can stop talking about your kids now

Dustin & Kandice - Friends/I’m very glad they’re still in this

We’re still in Vietnam. I have to veto Phil’s brown shirt. Not a good choice. Rob & Kimberly are the first to leave at 1:47 a.m. Their clue tells them to fly to Chennai, India. Are we ever going to get out of Asia? I mean, nothing against Asia, but we’re five episodes in and that’s the only place we’ve seen. Anyway, the teams have to take a train to Hanoi first. Also, because of Vietnamese regulations, they can only buy plane tickets at a travel agency. Rob interviews that the race is an interview for a life together. Do they not realize that it’s not boding well for them? He says that to accomplish that goal (the goal of not killing each other, of course), they need to chill. No kidding.

Peter & Sarah leave second. Sarah says she doesn’t hold Peter on a pedestal anymore. Yay! Rock on, Sarah. Zoolander leave next. Recovering addicts, blah blah. James says one of the most difficult parts of the race is not being in control. One of the things they seem to not have control over is their hair because… wow. The guys decide to draw a picture of a train for their driver (good idea), but their train turns out “whack,” so instead they show the driver the clue. Fortunately, it looks like he knows where to go.

ErGo leave next. They’re wearing the best shirts I’ve ever seen on this show: they’re bright green and read, “LOST.” Under that is a picture of Phil, and under that, “Reward: bushel of kiwis.” We can see later that the backs say, “Vote 4 Cho.” Awesome. Erwin interviews that they’ve wanted to enjoy the adventure first. If they were in this for the money, they would be lying and cheating. I knew I liked them. And not just because of the shirts. Mary & David leave next, and David says he wants to win so he can stop working in the coalmine. With the money that they could win, they could take their kids to Disneyland and the Grand Canyon.

Dublyn leave next as Lyn interviews that other than college, this is the most time that they’ve gotten to spend together continuously. Though even in college, they weren’t roommates, so they didn’t see each other 24/7. They joke that they need some alone time, Karlyn saying that she’s sick of looking at Lyn. Dustin & Kandice are the last to leave, Kandice interviewing that this is do-or-die time and they need to do everything they can. They can’t let people get in front of them just because they’re not being aggressive enough. They hope they won’t get stuck on a train behind everyone else.

Rob & Kimberly reach the train station first, but they’re not alone for long - everyone, including Dustin & Kandice, gets there and they all have to hang out together before the first train leaves at 5 a.m. On the train, Zoolander spot people shooting drugs, and this gives them the chance to talk more about their addictions. Tyler explains that he started using as a teenager, after his father died in a car accident. They made him feel normal and took away his pain. Plus, he didn’t have to think about reality.

Elsewhere on the train, Erwin says that he’s not sure how the other teams are interacting, but ErGo, Mary & David, and Dublyn have been good about sharing info with each other. They look at maps together and figure out a couple of agencies to go to. Peter notices, and after a few minutes he gets up to “use the restroom.” As he passes ErGo and Dublyn, he offers to tell them where the closest agency to the station is. He then heads to the next car and tells Kandice & Dustin that those three teams are working together. He seems to be fishing for an alliance and offers to let them look at his and Sarah’s map if Dustin & Kandice will remember them in the future. They give him a “yeah, sure” that sounds dismissive to me, and after he leaves, Kandice tells Dustin that Peter’s being nice because he likes Dustin. Dustin says they’ll be taking this on a case-by-case basis. These are smart people right here.

On the way back to his seat, Peter passes Dublyn and ErGo again and repeats his offer. Lyn basically calls his bluff, telling him to just say it already. He doesn’t. She says that she won’t be begging him for anything because she doesn’t need him, and he shouldn’t keep trying to play her because she’s not stupid. Lyn, call me. You’re awesome.

Remember ErGo’s water guns? They appear to have another toy along with them - a fake cell phone. Godwin uses it to pretend to call a travel agent and get into the other racers’ heads. Peter falls for it. He heads back to Dustin & Kandice’s car while ErGo & Dublyn crack up. Peter tells Dustin & Kandice that Dublyn, ErGo, and Mary & David (who, by the way, were nowhere near ErGo when Godwin made the “call”) made reservations already. He asks the local sitting across from Kandice & Dustin if he can use her cell phone, then tells Kandice & Dustin that he’ll share the phone number with them. He makes the call to book four tickets, telling the agent, “Just know we’re coming.” ErGo & Dublyn are still laughing.

In Hanoi, the teams disembark and jump in taxis to get to a travel agency. Zoolander explain that they’re working with Rob & Kimberly. Yeah, that’s a winning alliance. Dustin & Kandice are first to an agency, hoping Peter & Sarah don’t find them there. They do, and Peter asks them not to screw him and Sarah over. Dublyn go to another agency. Zoolander and Rob & Kimberly are at another one. David & Mary and ErGo learn that the agency they’re looking for has moved. Mary & David find a local to lead them to another agency while ErGo head to another one.