Amazing Race 14

Episode Six:
Alright Guys, We’re at War!

Previously, seven teams took a ride on the Trans Siberian Railway from Krasnoyarsk to Novosibirsk in Siberian Russia…manual transmission cars…Russian Brides…a snowplow obstacle course…jogging in underwear in the freezing cold…non-elimination leg…okay, Phil won’t say it but I will…“Who will be eliminated next…”

Phil reminds us that Novosibirsk is the largest city in Siberia, and is a regional cultural center with a ballet and opera theatre known as the ‘Siberian Coliseum’ because of the architecture of the front portico. The largest theatre in Russia was the fifth pit stop in a Race around the world.

Route Info: Sacred Tree

As Margie and Luke read their clue as they prepare to leave the pit stop, we learn that the teams are to fly 2,000 Phil miles to Moscow Russia, connecting to Jaipur, India. Phil tells us that Jaipur is known as the pink city as it was dressed in pink for royal visitors in 1876. Once there the teams will race to the remote outskirts of Jaipur and find Dhula village and on the outskirts of the village, find the sacred Peepli Ka Pedh tree.

A little housekeeping before we check on the flights. First of all the time separating the first and last teams arriving at the Ballet Theatre pit stop was 4:08. As the teams leave Novosibirsk my guestimate is that it is the start of the tenth day of the race. We have no idea how much money the teams were given for this leg of the race.

Phil tells us that all the teams are on the flight to Moscow, and then on to New Delhi, where they catch the 5:40 AM flight to Jaipur, India. It looks like Race is now using Google Maps, or Microsoft Live Maps because as the graphic draws a line to represent the flight to Jaipur, there is a satellite view of the airport runway.

On Expedia.com, one can still find Aeroflot Flight 810, which leaves Novosibirsk (OVB), Russia at 7:00 AM (a time heard when the teams were at the ticket counter). This flight arrives in Moscow (SVO) at 8:25 AM. This flight covers 1,736 miles, and takes 4:25. This flight costs US$221.90 (per person).

A second Aeroflot flight, number 535 leaves Moscow (SVO) for Delhi, India (DEL) at 5:10 PM, arriving at 12:30 AM (the next day). This flight takes 5:50 and covers 2,693 miles. The flight uses an IL-90-300, and costs US$941.90 (per person). There are additional details about this plane here.

For $77.40 (per person), you could catch Jet Airways flight 3401 departing Delhi (DEL) at 5:45 AM (a time confirmed by Phil), and arrive in Jaipur (JAI) at 6:45 AM. This flight takes an hour, and covers 145 miles.

These are the segments of the Race that I think really wear on the teams. Take the first team, Margie and Luke: they leave the pit stop at 12:18 AM. The take a cab to the airport, but between leaving the pit stop and leaving Novosibirsk they have a 6:42 minute wait. Obviously this bottleneck allows all the other teams to catch up so everyone is on an even footing.

The flight to Moscow takes 4:25, where the teams face an 8:45 wait for the flight to New Delhi. That flight takes 5:50 minutes, followed by a wait in New Delhi of 5:15 minutes before the one hour flight to Jaipur. By the time the teams run out of the airport to look for a cab to take them to the Sacred Tree, 20:50 has elapsed, with nothing but restless sleep in airports or on flights.

This map shows the route of the flights from Siberia to India.


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Three items are open at this point: What makes Jaipur an interesting city? Where is the village of Duhla? And finally what is the story about the tree?

A Web site based in England, has a good quick summary about the city: “…Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan. Rajasthan is a land of Rajputs with a rich historical and architectural legacy and Jaipur being the royal capital in the past and state capital at present has a number of attractions that will certainly ring for a long time in your memory. Witness the play of red sandstone and white marble that marks the monuments of ‘The Pink City’ Jaipur. Founded by a genius ruler Sawai Raja Jai Singh, who were a kindred soul and an intellectual in his own right, Jaipur never ceases to mesmerize tourists with its delights. The first planned city of India, the regal splendor and grandeur is embedded in the very aura of the city of Jaipur. A commercial center known for its emeralds, carpets, blue pottery and textiles, a festive spirit evades the warm and hospitable desert people of the city. Here, you can know about the main places to visit, the excursion points of the city and its history and culture in brief.”

The Wikipedia entry for Jaipur is here.

As to the village, this is a bit harder. But the map at the previous Jaipur Web site shows that Dhula is bound by the road that goes through Bassi (sometimes spelled ‘Basi’), highway 11-A, and the road that goes through Ramgarh. Then using Google's satellite views, you can see an area that looks quite dry. Zooming in you can find an unmarked village, with a tree on the outskirts of the village. You may have to zoom in on this map view.


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This would be approximately 22 miles as a crow flies from the Jaipur airport.

It appears that the sacred tree, which Phil calls ‘Peepli Ka Pedh,’ is a Peepal tree, which “is a large, fast growing deciduous tree. It has a heart shaped leaves. It is a medium size tree and has a large crown with the wonderful wide spreading branches. It shed its leaves in the month of March and April. The fruits of the Peepal are hidden with the figs. The figs are ripen in the month of May. The figs which contain the flowers grow in pairs just below the leaves and look like the berries. Its bark is light gray and peels in patches. Its fruit is purple in color. It is one of the longest living trees.”

This appears to be confirmed by this site (scroll way down).

At the tree there is a table with two red phones, and a sign which says:

For your next clue dial one of these numbers:

And below there are four Indian phone numbers.

Route Info: Amber Fort

The voice on the phone is very hard to hear, but eventually teams figure out that they have to travel to the Amber Fort, and find the Gaura Parvati Parking lot. Tammy and Victor were very smart here—they had their cab driver listen to the message. Margie and Luke are not so smart, not understanding the message, they decide to just follow the others, but India, with its congested traffic is not the place to bet on keeping other racers in sight.

Many teams wandered around looking for the clue box, and I have to say, this time it did not appear that anything near the clue had the typical Race colors. But below the Amber Fort, was a sign at the edge of the road which read:

Amber Fort
Gaura Parvati
Parking

in English, with Indian (Hindu) writing below it.

RoadBlock: Care for Camel

Phil tells us that in this roadblock one person must work in the shadow of this Maharajah fort to care for one of India’s most prized animals, the camel (although these animals may actually be Dromedary camels). Now here is the key from the clue that most of the teams missed: Using a set of traditional tools, which comprised a basket,  a rake, and a pail, load and carry enough water and feed to satisfy their herd of camels. Once they have moved sufficient feed to cover a mark on a pole, and fetched enough water to fill the trough, then the camel master will give them there next clue. I never did hear this RoadBlock expressed in the usual format riddle as “Who wants to…”

Most people ignored the baskets, attempting to use the pail, or even putting straw in their shirts, making the task harder and very inefficient.

So there is another great Mel moment of not quitting. Although carrying the water in the heat wore him out, and had everyone thinking he might have a heart attack on the spot, or seriously finish in last place, his proper reading of the clues, and therefore the correct use of the right tools allowed Mel and Mike to actually pass the other teams.

One other interesting note, while the camels appeared pretty docile, there was a shot of a camel getting in a vicious kick to an Indian man standing too close to its hind legs, which knocked the man flat on the ground.

There is a pretty good description of the Amber Fort at the Jaipur Hub Web site, and Wikipedia.

Route Info: Puppet Store

Teams must now make their way to the Ram Niwas Ram Gopal puppet store at 131, Johari Bazar, Jaipur 302003, Rajasthan, where they will find their next clue. A good description of the puppets is here, and a photo here.

Detour: Movers or Shakers

In ‘Movers,’ teams travel to Sanganeri Gate, where they will choose a tricycle loaded with about ten polystyrene barrels, each loaded with straw, and then peddle 1.5 miles to Zorawar Singh Gate. Once there they will search through the straw in the barrels to find a small elephant charm which they may exchange for their next clue. Given my Race adversity towards any task involving hay or straw, I would not have chosen this branch of the detour. There is a pretty good description of the gates of Jaipur here.

In ‘Shakers,’ teams must travel to a nearby busy intersection, put on traditional costumes and makeup, and join a Rajasthani dance troop. Then they will go into the shake their hips for tips until they have earned 100 rupees or approximately US$2.00. When they give their tips to band leader and exchange the cash for their next clue. I vaguely remember seeing similar horse-costumes in Calgary to do a ‘Mountie Musical Ride,’ but I could just be another brain fart.

It is also here that Christy and Jodi have to complete their Speed Bump—a task that only they have to perform because they were last at the non-elimination pit stop in Siberia.  For their speed bump, the team has to travel for some time to a  temple where they must use paint to decorate an elephant. On the Bonnie Hunt show, the girls revealed that it only took about 10 minutes to paint the elephant, which was a lot of fun, and it was great to be so close to the elephant, but in the end, it was the time spent stuck in traffic while they travelled across the city to get to the place where the elephant was an back that cost them so much time.

Route Info: Jaigarh Fort

Teams must now race to a 15th century fort, which will be the pit stop for this leg of the race. The last team to check in here, may be eliminated.

So it ends up that this fort, is next to the Amber Fort visited earlier in the episode. More on this fort is available at Wikipedia. There are an amazing number of monkeys who appear to have made the fort their home.

Tammy and Victor are the first team to arrive to the some what unusual accompaniment of a pair of nose flutes. While this article on mentions their use in India, it is not a purely Indian method of serenading.

The lawyers each win an ocean kayak.

This map shows most of the sites in Jaipur that the teams visited after the little side trip to Dhula.


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Mel and Mike are team number two; Kisha and Jen are team number three; and Margie and Luke are right behind the as team number four. While teams three and four are still standing on the mat, Jaime and Cara arrive as team number five. Mark and Michael are team number six, barely beating Christy and Jodi whose Speed Bump put an end to their race.

Next Week: Teams go wild in Thailand…

…and problems with the heat….