I'm still not sure those elephant guys are Asian, both from skin color and hairstyle. The guy on the right seems to have thicker, corser hair than most Asian people. The skin appears way too dark. I really think these guys are in India, where elephants are a big deal (remember the "push the elephant through the streets of India" deal in TAR7?). The fencing is generic enough that it could be from any developing country. Besides, the Race is in love with India - it's one of few safe stopping grounds in that area. Plus, this race looks to already have some LONG initial legs (Denver to Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo to Sicily) that Moscow to southeast Asia seems a little chunky without a break somewhere in between. Maybe something like the following?
EP1: Denver (Red Rocks Amphitheatre) to Sao Paulo, Brazil (bridge)
EP2: Sao Paulo to Segesta, Sicily (ruins)
EP3: Segesta to Corinth, Greece (diving into canal)
EP4: Corinth to Moscow, Russia (basilica, ballet)
EP5: Moscow to India (elephants)
EP6: India to Perth, Australia (newspaper)
EP7a: Perth to Darwin (newspaper/sighting) - TBC
EP7b: Darwin to Adelaide to Singapore
EP8: Singapore to Lopburi, Thailand (masks)
EP9: Lopburi to Tokyo (shopping district, Mt. Fuji)
EP10: Tokyo to Anchorage (sighting, red plane)
EP11: Anchorage to Denver
Other problem here, though. This is only like 40,000 miles of travel - nowhere near the 60,000 mentioned on the preview. What could make up for that kind of difference?