Amazing Race 13
Episode Six:
Bayon Temple, Cambodia, to
Bahai Temple, New Delhi, India.
…seven teams set out…manual gas pumping…broken boats…false teeth finding or fishing…locating an echo chamber…six teams remain, who will be eliminated next…
Phil starts by describing Siem Reap as the fastest growing city in Cambodia, and he reminds us that the team’s pit stop was built more than 900 years ago as a Buddhist temple.
Nick and Starr were the first to arrive at 11:22 in the morning, with Toni and Dallas arriving at 11:34. Ken and Tina were third at 11:53. The Divorcees were the last team to arrive in the morning, at 11:59.
Terrence and Sarah actually arrived at 11:35, but adding the 30 minute penalty for speeding made their new arrival time as 12:05. The Frat Boys arrived at 12:29 PM. So only 1:07 minutes separate the teams, and this leg covered 6,323 miles. The first team arrived at the Siem Reap pit stop 61 hours after leaving the pit stop in New Zealand. By my count it is now day 10.
As the teams leave the Bayon Temple pit stop, we find out that: they are heading to New Delhi, India; that they have $110 for this leg of the trip; and they have to stop at Tourex Asia to get their tickets out of the country.
I am never sure when there the Race shows a requirement to exit a country in a particular manner, whether it is the Race doing something to keep the teams close together, or whether it is a requirement of the country. For example, I imagine many countries may not be excited about people arriving on a one-way ticket from one country, without proof that they are going to leave or go home. Other countries do require exit visas, which may only be sold at certain locations. Or it could be both reasons are in play.
For what it is worth the US Government provides some advice on exiting Cambodia, as does the Cambodian Embassy.
Regardless, teams have to make their way from the temple to the Tourex office at 550, Mondul 1, Svay Dangkum Commune, Siem Reap, purchase their tickets to New Delhi, and then go to the airport. I’ll estimate this at 10 miles just because it makes the math easy and it is going to be pretty close to what the distance was.
The travel agent tells us the teams will arrive in New Delhi at 4:15 PM. Using that, and the fact that they leave Siem Reap on Bangkok Airways, I think this is the route they flew:
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For $925 you can catch a Bangkok Air flight that leaves Siem Reap (REP) at 9:50 AM, arriving in Bangkok (BKK), Thailand at 10:45 AM. This first segment is 213 miles and takes 55 minutes. It would be an extremely tight connection, but Thai Airways International flight 6521 departs Bangkok (BKK) at 11:00 AM and arrives in Chennai (MAA), India at 12:50 PM. This flight, which costs $380.50 covers 1,379 miles and takes 3:20. Chennai for those of you who may be thinking I have never heard of that Indian city, may remember it as Madras.
Finally, the teams could depart Chennai (MAA) at 1:40 PM, arriving in Delhi (DEL) at 4:15 PM. This flight, Jet Airways 831, costs $132.80, and covers 1,095 miles, in 2:35. The elapsed time was approximately 8:30.
Roadblock: Who Has an Artistic Flair?
A roadblock is a task that only one team member can…
This roadblock is really two clues. Leaving the pit stop, the teams are told not just to fly to Delhi, but once there, they are to take a cab to Moon Light Motors.
When they arrive at Moon Light Motors, they find out it is a roadblock, and in this roadblock a team member has to mask a rickshaw, and then spray-paint the bottom portion (both inside and out) green—because the vehicles will now use CNG fuel. Phil makes this sound like a recent trend, but it is something that has been underway in Delhi for some time.
Disclaimer
India can be one of the hardest countries on any Race to find clear information about. For example, while Google Maps appears to have information about Delhi and its streets, it does not seem to have sufficient information to provide driving directions between any two points.
Few businesses list in directories with addresses. You can find Moon Light Motors for example, in lists of automotive companies that do certain work, but often with merely a neighborhood or city designation.
When you Google ‘Moon Light Motors Delhi’ for example, you have to exclude the words ‘Amazing Race’ to eliminate the hundreds of Race blogs that will be in the result set. And when I see the list, I am surprised by how many there are, but I don't think many try to add the details that the Pulibros do.
Just for grins, and a quick lesson in searching, here is the probably the best way to do a query like this:
“Moon Light” Motors Delhi -Amazing -Race
Even when you find an address, they are hard to decipher. From the audio of this Race episode, we hear the address given as 16 DDA.
DDA appears to be the acronym for Delhi Development Authority, which manages housing developments, including flats in Delhi. Just to make things confusing, they also build roads, so is this the number 16 Expressway?
There are some businesses in the Delhi Yellow pages that list in DDA Flats, but I could not find an entry for Moon Light Motors.
The visual clues in this episode are pretty sparse, for example, the sign for Moon Light Motors has more information about the auto paint (ICI and Duco) then any address information. But this shows the name as two distinct words: Moon Light versus Moonlight. It is not clear what the 2K means, it could simply be that the stall or store front is unit 2K.
The Automol beneath it appears to be a brand of lubricating oil from Bharat Petroleum
If you look carefully when Toni and Dallas were getting out of their cab from the airport, you can see that across the street, but in walking distance of Moon Light Motors is Sonu Auto Engineers, and Bathas (or Rathas) Boring Center.
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The question becomes, is the Sonu Auto Engineering Works on this Google map, the Sonu Auto Engineers from the Race? Despite the airport being visible if you zoom out a little, Google Maps cannot calculate driving directions.
So I am not sure whether this location is the right location or not.
Back to the Race
…Meanwhile, back on the race, once again the Roadblock description is misleading: masking a rickshaw with newspaper and tape so that it can be spray painted hardly requires an artistic flair. But we see Nick and Dallas providing encouragement and feedback to help their respective partners (Starr and Toni) to help them complete the task, while Terrence and Tina only raise the level of frustration, and therefore slow down their partners (Sarah and Ken).
Surprisingly, the Frat Boys finish first, and are the first team to get the next clue.
Route Info: Ambassador Hotel
Teams have to make their way by taxi to the Ambassador Hotel, where a doorman, is waiting for them in the gardens with their next clue.
You might think locating the hotel would be less frustrating than trying to locate Moon Light Motors, but, there are several Ambassador Hotels.
In this case, I think the Ambassador Hotel that the racers had to find is the one at Sujan Singh Park. Again, Google maps is unable to generate directions.
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Detour: ‘Launder Money’ or ‘Launder Clothes’
A detour is a choice between two tasks…
In ‘Launder Money’ the team must find a banquet hall, and then make a necklace by stapling a total of 10 different Indian bank notes totaling 780 rupees (about $16.50). Then they have to find a groom in the crowd, and exchange the necklace for the next clue.
In ‘Launder Clothes’ the team must find a laundry, and using a charcoal heated iron, press twenty items of clothing. When the laundry supervisor thinks they have completed this task, she will give them the next clue.
Based on how hard it was to find ‘Moon Light Motors’ I am not going to spend any time looking for locations that we know even less about.
Background on the money necklace was also hard to find. This site features some Indian Wedding Facts, and this site has Indian Wedding Customs and Rituals, but I didn't see anything about a ‘780 Rupee’ necklace. Like many wedding ceremonies, money does play a role.
One problem appears to be that different regions of India, and different Hindu denominations appear to have slightly different ceremonies and rituals. Overall, despite missing citations, this may be the best description.
Coal-fired irons just didn't feel interesting enough to research. But because some of you may not know this, here is how you iron a shirt.
The ironing task also provides this week’s Episode Title: ‘Please Hold Me While I Singe My Skull,’ which was uttered by the Divorcee. I would have chosen, Dallas’ ‘My Mom’s the Worst Wing-man Ever!’
The ironing task also provides this weeks ‘Pot-to-Kettle’ moment: Starr is wearing just her sports bra while ironing—exposing a lot of skin—after commenting earlier in the race about the Divorcees’ shorts.
Race Strategy
So here we have a strategic dilemma. If you are a fan of the Race, then you will remember from previous legs through India that tasks involving crowds can be hard to complete and problematic. But on the other hand, laundry (and dying), involve some potentially toxic waters and chemicals. Still all in all, my strategy would be to avoid things that take you into hot, crowded and noisy places and stick to things that, while requiring hard labor, can be completed quickly with a little concentration and focus.
But selecting the task shows a funny insight into the teams. First Dallas totally misses his mother’s sarcasm when she says, “Yeah, your a pro-ironer Dallas,” when Dallas suggested that they do ‘Launder Clothes’.
And, in my opinion, Nick and Starr show why they may be the team to beat: first, they had as much ironing experience as the Frat Boys, but rather than complain about it they figured out how to do it, and then they just did it. But even more important, when they realized how hot the charcoal filled irons were, they went to their packs and each got a pair of gloves.
Wow! A team that actually thought about what to pack, and anticipated that hey, having a pair of gloves might come in handy! Seldom do people on reality shows pack or dress appropriately, as we have seen on Survivor and Race, but these two had packed gloves. And they were the only ones that had, which gave them a real advantage on this task.
It was amusing to watch the other teams ask where they got the glues or call for them as if someone—a Race producer, or someone at the Laundry—owed them a pair of gloves for this task.
Route Info: Baha'i House
Teams must now make their way through the confusing streets of Delhi to Baha'i House, which was built in the 1930s and is the National Headquarters of the Baha'i faith.
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Once again, we have a problematic location. When you search for the location, Google takes you to a location that is the more recently built 'Lotus Temple'. But I strongly suspect both locations are on the same grounds. Again wanting to minimize the usage of Wikipedia, here is some information on the Baha'i faith in India, and a general introduction to its teachings.
Nick and Starr again, arrive at the pit stop first, and win an electric car (model and make undisclosed).
The Divorcees are team number two, Terrence and Sarah, despite the assessed half-hour penalty are team number three, and the Frat Boys are team number four. Tina and Ken are last, but this is the first non-elimination pit stop, so on the next leg of the race they will have to complete an additional penalty task.
Coming attractions: More crowds in India?