At Dodger's Stadium, Phil greets the twelve teams of two people and starts the race around the world with a hearty, The world is waiting for you. The teams in this season are: Reichen and Chip: a gay married couple, Kelly and Jon: engaged, David and Jeff: friends, Jon and Al: circus clowns, Millie and Chuck: dating couple who are virgins, Tian and Jaree: friends, Monica and Sheree: pro-football wives, Steve and Dave: air traffic controllers, Steve and Josh: father and son. Russell and Cindy: friends, Amanda and Chris: dating from South Dakota, Debra and Steve: married. The teams scurry for their cars and race through the streets of Los Angeles to arrive at the airport and fly to Milan, Italy. After landing in Italy, the teams head for the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II to find their next clue. The clue directs the couples to find bus tickets hidden in local shops. Once a team takes a ticket (it has a time on it), they may not exchange it. The buses travel to Cortina d'Ampezzo in the ... Written by Missy

In the end, with the possibility of someone getting eliminated, all four teams dash through the Roadblock in order to stay in the game. But unfortunately it's too late for one team and they step onto the mat in last place. They have indeed been eliminated, leaving the final three.

The teams travel from Italy to Vienna, Austria. There, horse-riding creates confusion when teams fail to follow a clue that states that you must grab a tag before boarding the horses. A Detour - Mozart or Beethoven creates confusion and tension when teams realize that the Beethoven option wasn't as simple as it sounded. And Steve and Dave, after claiming the Fast Forward the previous week, fall far behind, but a stroke of luck keeps them in the race and Cindy and Russell are eliminated

The teams start by traveling to France. Transportation confusion with trains and jets causes some teams into the lead to fall behind, while others reach the route marker in France early. There, they're surprised to find themselves faced with a Roadblock rather than a Detour. The Roadblock involves changing the tires on a race car and then doing a lap with a professional driver. All teams succesfully complete the task and then head to the next location, a lighthouse over 500 miles away. However, they find themselves all bunched together by the morning opening hours.

The teams travel from France to Amsterdam, Holland. Most teams are able to get flights, but David and Jeff and Steve and Dave have to head to another airport and lose critical time when they are caught in a bad traffic jam. In Amsterdam, teams must go boating to a museum and this leads to massive confusion, particularly for the team of Tian and Jaree. In the Detour, teams must choose between 500 kg or 15 Feet. In 500 kg, they drive 30 miles and then weight out 500 kg of cheese and in 15 ft., they have to drive only 12 miles and search through cow manure for their clue. Most teams go for the cow manure, but a couple of them opt for the cheese. Afterwards, they face a Roadblock in which they must gather 25 live eels. In the end, despite serious fighting between Tian and Jaree, they manage to squeak past Steve and Dave, who, after narrowly escaping elimination in past weeks, are eliminated from the race.

The seven remaining teams flew to Mumbai, India, where they faced culture shock by some of the locals. In Mumbai, teams had to take a bike ride to a movie studio and then search the studio for the clue box. There teams encountered a Detour in which they were given a choice involving either washing clothing or searching through clothing. Many teams faced culture shock as they dealt with crowded trains, which they had to ride to either task. Later on, all teams excelled through the Roadblock which involved heavy fish lifting. Once the task was completed, teams were then told to travel by taxi to the next Pit Stop located at the Gateway of India, an 83 year old monument. Three teams ended up in a tense foot race due to being held up in traffic on the way. In the end, one team was unable to catch up to the others and checked in last place, receiving the bad news of their elimination from Phil.

The six remaining teams began at the Gateway of India and learned that they must travel by train to a place called Ernakulam Junction. After the 24 hour train ride, the teams opened their next clue instructing them to travel an additional 25 miles to the town of Alleppy and find a locally known sports field to find their next clue. Once there, they were faced with a Roadblock that required the person to participate in Bull Racing by holding onto the Bull while traveling at fast speeds. Once completed, the teams made their way through Alleppy to Beach Road in order to find the next route marker. While others fell behind at the Roadblock, the leading teams found the next clue.

At the opening of the episode, Reichen and Chip reveal to the remaining teams that they are a couple and have been married for a year now - it's their one-year anniversary. Reichen discusses how he quit the Air Force so he could be with Chip, Millie and Chuck talk about how they've been together for twelve years and are virgins, and Kelly and Jon say they got engaged right before the race. The teams are given $120 for the leg, which sends them from India to Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, over 5,000 miles away. The teams jockey for position to get faster flights, with Jon and Al, Millie and Chuck and David and Jeff ending up at the front of the pack, despite an initial blunder by Reichen and Chip. David and Jeff and Kelly and Jon trail not far behind. The teams finally reach Malaysia, where, after participating in a traditional ceremony of good blessing, they head on to a Detour: Net or Trap.

The teams are then given a clue to drive a 145 miles to an oil plantation. This quickly leads to confusion, with two teams getting lost. Kelly and Jon realize they have no idea where they're going and choose to opt for the Fast Forward. They feel it is a safe bet, as they don't figure it would be to any of the other teams' benefit to go for the Fast Forward. Unbeknownst to them, though, Reichen and Chip have already accidentally headed down the road for the Fast Forward and, once they realize what they've done, they decide to continue down that road to claim it. While this occurs, Jon and Al have made their way to the Detour. Called Chop / Haul, the teams are given a choice between chopping down fruits to find their clue in an envelope, or hauling 25 heavy bundles of fruit into a marked truck. The catch with the Chop option is that only one in four envelopes contain a clue.

All teams complete the task and receive a clue to go to the airport and get to Seoul, South Korea, which is approximately 4,000 miles away. Despite a rule that requires the teams to leave for the airport in vans at one-hour intervals, the teams all end up together at the airport. There, they take a plane that heads to Singapore and then connects to Seoul. Once at Singapore, two teams, David and Jeff and Jon and Al find that a flight heading to Hong Kong will arrive in Seoul one hour earlier. They take this flight and form a sort of alliance, arriving in Seoul first. Once in Seoul, the teams find a clue that takes them to an icy area close to the South Korean border. This creates confusion, with David and Jeff getting lost and having a harrowing experience when their taxi driver takes them past where they should be and are surrounded by military vehicles.

The teams all complete the kite task, although some have more difficulty than others. The clue they receive tells them to make their way to Brisbane, Australia, over 7,000 miles away. All teams pull even when they find out the airport doesn't open until 6:00 A.M. However, believing they are in last place, David and Jeff consider the Fast Forward. At the airport, the teams find a number of options for flights. Kelly and Jon, David and Jeff and Reichen and Chip all end up on the same flight together, but Jon and Al chose a different flight and it gets delayed by fog, forcing it to take off after every other flight in the line.

At the Pit Stop in Australia, the teams receive a clue telling them to drive 80 miles to Australian woolshed. There, they'll receive further instructions on how to receive their next clue. They're given only $1 for this leg of the race. David and Jeff reflect at the beginning of the race reflect on how their being analytical gives them an edge, while Kelly and Jon note that they've been saving up money. When the teams arrive at the woolshed, they find that it does not open until 6:00 A.M and therefore, they're all going to be grouped together. Once the woolshed opens, they all race in and find that they each have to search through a giant pile of wool for the clue.

The teams begin at their Pit Stop in Ellis Beach, Australia. It's the twelfth and final pit stop in this race around the world. The first team to depart is David and Jeff, followed by Reichen and Chip and then Kelly and Jon. The clue tells them to drive to an Aboriginal Cultural Park. Like the previous leg, they have one dollar for this leg of the race. The teams all arrive at the cultural park, which doesn't open until 6:00 A.M. At that time, they all head in and watch a traditional ceremony. Afterwards, they receive a clue telling them to drive fifteen miles to the general aviation terminal at the airport in Cairnes. The teams all get into a driving race to get there and Reichen and Chip end up going so fast that their vehicles spins off the road.