This week's show began in Oman where Phil talked about the Pit Stop and its "imposing turrets and sprawling courtyards." He then added, "MUCH LIKE MY HOUSE." Okay, maybe not. But you know he's at least got an alligator-infested moat circling his domicile. Incidentally, if I were ever to classify Phil as some sort of architectural feature, it most certainly would be "imposing turret."

Phil then asked his usual questions to pique our interest: "Will BJ and Tyler's friendly way with people pay off when they need it most?" And more importantly, will any kind soul buy these two a stick of deodorant? Or will their pungent funk pervade every nook and corner of the globe? As AR6's Rebecca would say, so many questions.

Anyway, Fran and Barry were first to leave the Pit Stop (and no, they somehow did not get lost amidst the imposing turrets and sprawling courtyards). I thought for sure they'd be heading to another exotic location like Myanmar or Mozambique or any other country starting with "M," but no. They were off to lovely Perth, Australia. Not that I'm complaining. I'll gladly take the lush imagery of those sparkling blue beaches any day. I'm just saying that I expected more Developing Nation fun.

Well, the old fogeys went trotting over to their car, but not before depositing some cash in the Bank of BJ. Yes, for those of you who may have forgotten, the Hippies arrived last on a non-elimination leg, which meant they had no cash whatsoever. Apparently, they had asked teams to leave a donation in their car, and whoever didn't pass it forward might get slapped with a Yield. Ouch. That's not a very Hippie-ish mentality. Wait? What's that you say? These aren't real Hippies? Pshah. Now I've heard everything.

Anyway, Frankenberry happily dropped some money off for BJ (no, not for a BJ. That would be gross), but Mojo weren't as kind. Monica and Joseph decided that they would walk up to the car and pretend like they were giving money, but not actually do it. That would make a lot of sense... if people were watching you. Seriously, why the elaborate display?

Turns out the reason why Mojo wasn't feeling very charitable was because they didn't take too kindly to the Hippies' Yield threat. "It's not hte smartest thing in the world telling everybody that you're going to Yield the Mojo," Monica said. And let's be honest, she IS the authority on the smartest things in the world. Monica then pointed out the window and said "Look Joseph! Cotton balls in the sky!" No, Monica. Those are clouds.

Okay, okay, the cloud thing didn't happen (at least, not on camera). Meanwhile, up ahead, Frankenberry found themselves in a massive traffic jam. The only route to the airport had been closed down. Why? Because the King was in town. Man, what a royal pain in the ass. RIMSHOT!!! Oh, that was wonderful. Patting myself on the back.

Next out of the gate were Ray and Yolanda who spent the last episode bickering about cussing and whatnot. Apparently all the stress had really begun to take its toll on this long-distance couple. "We went from zero to 120 kilometers in no time," Yolanda explained. And by the way, props to her for converting her metaphor into metric. That was very global.

Jeremy and Eric waltzed out of the Pit Stop next, and they didn't leave any money for their Hippie rivals, but they did leave an IOU. I personally shocked that they didn't misspell that. Jeric wasn't too concerned for BJ and Tyler. After all, they were resourceful Hippies. They'd probably make gas out of trees or something, they reasoned. Besides, this was a competition. "It's like trying to get in a girl's pants," Eric noted. "You know, lie, cheat, steal, you know, whatever you can." Incidentally, that's how he met Jeremy.

Up ahead, Monica and Joseph were now stuck in the King's traffic jam, and sure enough, this led to plenty of complaining. "We've wasted so much time," Monica whined. Yeah, why don't you just go and tell the King. I'm sure he'll understand...

Finally, the Hippies left the Pit Stop, and in typical fashion, they managed to make even the most simple task incredibly annoying. Case in point, they opened up the clue with their teeth. Ah, that's the sort of spontaneity that only plenty of rehearsal can provide!

Worst version of Lady and the Tramp ever!

Anyway, the good news was that when BJ and Tyler read that one team would have no money, they somehow resisted the urge to joke, "Wonder who that is???" I always love it when teams do that. So original. Instead, they skipped off to their car, with Tyler saying, "Let's go put another prawn on the barbie!" It's shrimp. Shrimp on the barbie, jerk.

Posted by B-side on April 27, 2006 3:32 PM