Dustin and Kandice arrive at the kiosk, and they pluck the last 7:15 AM departure time. Considering how badly they got screwed on the taxi and the disorientation, they handled this pretty well, I think. Dustin talks about how "disheartening" it is that two teams from the later plane -- those being Jamie and Kellie and Tom and Terry -- beat them to this spot, which they're not happy about. I'm just glad they used the word "disheartening," because I've seen quite a few people go by on various shows who wouldn't even know that word. It's all so promising!

In 11th place, still ahead of the *wins, Bilal and Sa'eed finish up the fish eyes and get on their way. In the cab, Bilal looks back on his experience. "I'm from Cleveland, Ohio! What do I know about chopsticks?" he wonders. The Chinese restaurants of Cleveland take offense en masse. Finally, the *wins arrive at Gold House. Erwin starts scarfing fish eyes. "Not too tasty," he comments. Aw, that's nicely polite, considering what I think it stands for in his internal monologue.

At the kiosk, Rob and Kimberly are stuck with 7:30 AM. Vipul and Arti's driver doesn't seem sure where they need to go, which Arti thinks is a language problem. Bilal and Sa'eed's driver has to pull over and ask for directions. There certainly seems to be an accumulation of late-stage taxi problems here. They'd better get a move on, because back at Gold House, Erwin is all done with the fish eyes. Vipul and Arti stop in somewhere to ask for directions, bringing their driver with them. Inside, they get someone to give the driver some help, which is exactly how you do it -- you take your driver with you. Smart. Bilal and Sa'eed are frustrated at feeling like they're "driving in circles with this guy."

So Vipul and Arti, Bilal and Sa'eed, and the *wins are the remaining teams converging on the Meridian Gate. Vipul and Arti arrive first, and they pull one of the 7:30 cards. The *wins are next. 7:30 for them, too. And last, Bilal and Sa'eed, who are stuck pulling the horrible little card that says "Last Team," which instructs them to go and find Phil. Uh-oh. They almost never let Phil give good news. They jog up to a mat, where Phil meets them, looking like his original, old-school, Grim Reaper incarnation. All the other teams are gathered nearby to watch what's going to happen here. Phil tells Bilal and Sa'eed that they are the last to arrive, and that although it's not a pit stop, they are both out of the race. "Wow," Bilal says sadly. He says that they didn't think they could be Philiminated without the words "pit stop," but Phil reminds them that he said there would be some surprises along the way. "This just goes to show that you really have no control over anything. The creator does," Bilal says. Eh. I'm not sure changing the rules of the race provides additional evidence of the hand of the Creator, but that's a theological debate we probably don't need to have. (Do they believe in Buddha? Just kidding!)