The race starts at Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles and immediately heads to Urugauy. A twist is revealed that could shake up the standings.

A detour involves walking eight dogs which proves more challenging for some then others when one team has a meltdown.

Teams run into a roadblock that seems like it would be fun but proves quite difficult when they need to find a chocolate with white filling among 11,000.

Teams struggle at the roadblock where they need to eat two pounds of caviar.

The teams start at the Pit Stop, Catherine’s Palace, where they’re then directed to head to St. Petersburg and find a painting in an art museum: Rembrandt’s The Return of the Prodigal Son. The teams are then instructed to fly 2,000 miles to Cairo, Egypt. The teams consider their flight options and Colin and Christie score big by doing their research. They score a flight that arrives many hours before the others and Fast Forward into the lead with a task that involves transporting a sarcophagus. They check in to a nice lead at the Great Sphinx. The other teams arrive in Egypt where they take part in a Roadblock: Who’s up for going down? They must carry up a bag of artifacts from a deep hole. They then take part in the Detour: Rock and Roll or Hump and Ride. In an odd twist, only Charla and Mirna get the Hump and Ride option because this horse-riding task shuts down at 5:30 P.M. The other teams must haul rocks and Linda and Karen are the last team to check in. They’re not eliminated, but are faced with a stiff penalty in the new twist.

The teams continue racing in Egypt, logging more flight time as they head to the Karnak Temple. Colin and Christie find that opening times cause their large lead to evaporate, but they manage to get in some much-needed extra sleep. The teams participate in a Detour – Herd It or Haul it. The herding involves traveling five miles and then herding sheep and goats, while the hauling is a three mile trip and then hauling water on a slow donkey. Although only two teams choose the hauling option, it seems to be the faster. The teams then participate in a Roadblock in which one team-member becomes an archaeologist and they search for scarabs. The episode ends in a surprise ending with something that has never before happened on The Amazing Race.

The teams travel from Crocodile Island to Nairobi, Kenya, where anticipation builds at the idea of traveling to a Mystery Location. After high tension at an airport, two teams book what they hope will be a faster flight, but find that a delay places them in the back of the pack. Once in Kenya, the teams take buses to a Detour: Buzzing or Busy. The Buzzing option is potentially faster and involves collecting honey from a hive of bees, while the Busy option involves furniture delivery. All teams opt to stay away from the bees and deliver the furniture. They then make their way to a Roadblock in which the task is to eat scrambled ostrich egg - an amount that's about twenty times that of a single chicken egg. It's a close call, but in the end a team that was a favorite of many is eliminated from The Amazing Race.

The teams get in a cab race for charter flights, and Colin becomes upset when his driver takes him to the airport on a spare tire that ends up going flat. He tries to pay only half of a hundred dollar fare, but ends up paying the entire thing when the driver threatens legal action. Linda and Karen end up on a very late flight, but all teams find that the flight order didn't matter so much when they get to their destination and learn that there's a large break until the opening time of 8 A.M. The teams all travel to the port of Dubai, where they find themselves with a Detour choice of Off-Plane or Off-Road. Teams doing Off-Plane will find themselves sky-diving, while those in Off-Road have to drive off-road vehicles along a marked course. Both could be good options, depending on the various teams strengths and the fact that the planes for Off-Plane only leave every 45 minutes. Brandon and Nicole and Kami and Karli choose the plane option, while Linda and Karen, Colin and Christie, and Chip and Kim go for the vehicles. In an extremely close finish, another team finds themselves stripped of all money in a non-elimination leg.

In this leg of the race, the teams travel from Dubai to Calcutta, India. Linda and Karen find themselves facing the law this time over a cab dispute, but with a far different reason and resolution than that of the Colin and Christie situation in the previous episode. Once in Calcutta, all teams initially take part in a brick-making Roadblock. When it proves an especially rough challenge for one team, they try opting for the Fast Forward, only to balk when they find it invovles shaving their heads. Therefore, all teams participate in the Heavy but Short - Light But Long Detour, all choosing Heavy But Short. After pushing taxicabs with the help of locals for a half-mile, they make their way to the pit stop: Victoria Memorial. The last place team finds them

The teams receive a clue telling them to travel over 6,000 miles from Calcutta, India to Auckland, New Zealand. Then, they must drive an additional 220 miles to Rotorua, New Zealand. Flight struggles initially put one team behind, but then confusion over directions moves them into a surprise lead. The teams take part in a Detour: Clean or Dirty. The Clean option involves a scary water rafting trip, while the Dirty option involves searching for a clue in hot mud. Colin and Christie, Linda and Karen, and Chip and Kim choose the Clean option, while Brandon and Nicole and Kami and Karli opt to get dirty. A questionable decision on the part of one racer makes for an intense battle to avoid elimination. The teams complete a Roadblock that involves rolling down a hill inside a Zorb, then walking across a final line. They then check in at the Pit Stop, but it’s finally too late for one team and they are eliminated.

The teams take off from the Pit Stop in New Zealand to the Westhaven Marina, where they face a Roadblock that involves scaling heights and then doing a controlled leap into a boat. Afterwards, the teams receive a clue telling them to travel over 5,000 miles to Manila, Philippines. One team lands seats on a flight that they hope will put them far ahead, but finds that flight delays and a missed connection place them together with the rest of the teams. Once in the Philippines, the teams take a part in a task to decorate jeepnees, a remnant of the American World War II presence. One team, though, must wait when they arrive only to find another team has exercised their Yield option on them. Afterwards, the teams do a Detour: Plow or Fowl. All teams choose the Plow option, which involves using an ox to plow for a clue, as opposed to the Fowl, which would have involved herding a thousand geese. All teams find themselves in a high-stakes bus and taxi race to the Coconut Palace Pit Stop, but one receives good news when they learn that although they finished last, they have not been eliminated from the race.

The teams set off from the Coconut Palace in Manila, Philippines, knowing that one team will be eliminated. Intense battles and struggles ensue as the teams make their way to El Nido on two charter flights, then struggle with a challenge that involves finding an island with the flag of the Philippines. The mistake of one team costs them dearly, but in the end, a Roadblock that involves rapelling up a high cliff proves the undoing of another. The remaining teams head into the final leg, which finds them all on a flight to Calgary, Alberta, Canada. There, they all struggle to hike up a long hill and then receive a clue telling them to head to Olympic Park. There, they face a detour: Slide or Ride, in which they must either complete a luge course in 34 seconds, or complete a challenging biking course in three minutes. One team attempts and fails the bike course, but all teams eventually end up completing the luge. The teams then make their way to the final destination of Dallas, Texas, where they must find their way through a complicated maze for the clue to the final destination. One team gets a jump with a slight flight lead, but in the end, two teams find themselves in a taxi race through thick traffic to the finish.