Amazing Race update – A passage across India

In the second half of a two-part episode, teams continued the Race in Lucknow, India. Even though Meredith & Gretchen were way behind the other teams, it all didn’t matter since the next clue instructed teams to gather at the Lucknow train station and wait for a train on platform 2; there the teams find the marked train doesn’t leave until 9pm. After a 24 hour (!) train ride to Jodhpur, India, teams needed to find a clock tower in the local market. Surprise: that doesn’t open until the next morning so it’s a bunching double-whammy.

As the sun rises, we see the remaining five teams head up the clock tower to find the next clue and it’s a Fast Forward/Detour combo. One team may choose to take the Fast Forward and this time it’s Uchenna & Joyce who leap at the chance. All the other teams must choose between Trunk or Dunk: for the Detour they may either move a heavy teak elephant down the street to a temple or dunk a bunch of sheets in tie-dye to find the next clue. All teams pick the Trunk and push the elephants down crowded street, enlisting help from the locals along the way. Teams finish this Detour pretty much in the order of their athletic ability with Team America first, followed by Team Survivor, Team Showtunes, and then Team Codger who were somewhat handicapped by the fact that (for some reason) Gretchen decided to ride on top of the elephant instead of helping to push. The next clue instructs teams to head to a local farm and off they go in cramped auto-rickshaws.

Meanwhile, Team Africa is searching for a riverfront temple and the Fast Forward and idly wondering if this is task requiring that they shave their heads. Obviously, they’ve seen season 5 of TAR where one team (Brendan & Nicole, who happened to be professional models) refused to take the same challenge. Of course, as part of an Indian custom, they must shave their heads to complete the task. This is meaningless for Uchenna who is completely bald, but Joyce has beautiful hair. Even so, she doesn’t hesitate for a moment and the Indian man starts cutting away. But once Joyce’s locks start falling around her, she starts to cry a little and Uchenna tries to console her by repeating “you look beautiful” for the remainder of the show. After Joyce is done, they receive the clue instructing them to head to the Pit Stop at Jaswant Thada – a stunning castle on the heights of Jodhpur – and they arrive as Team #1.

The remaining teams are heading from the Detour to the Roadblock: one team member must “race” a camel cart around a track (“race” as in the team members have help from a driver and another guide.) Kelly edges out Amber and Team America heads off to the Pit Stop with Team Survivor close behind. Meanwhile, Lynn is racing against Meredith and they finish the course a couple minutes later. All four remaining teams are then shown in their auto-rickshaws heading to the Pit Stop and, although you have a rough idea of everybody’s position in the Race, you never can tell.

For the second time this season, Team America’s taxi driver needs to stop for gas and Ron lets out a series of church-approved expletives (“consarnit” and such). This allows Rob & Amber to catch up and they arrive at the Pit Stop only a split-second behind Ron & Kelly. Meanwhile, Team Showtunes is taken to the wrong place (the other Jaswant Thada?) and they need to turn around and head back. This opens the door for Team Codger who, in one of those TAR twists, step on the mat as Team #4 to race another day. (Phil also notes that they’re the oldest team to make it so far in the Race.) Lynn & Alex eventually make it to the end, but they are eliminated. Gratefully, they spend their last moments on the show praising each other instead of griping about Rob & Amber.

Final standings:

#1 – Team Africa – Uchenna & Joyce – FAST FORWARD
#2 – Team America – Ron & Kelly
#3 – Team Survivor – Rob & Amber
#4 – Team Codger – Meredith & Gretchen
#5 – Team Showtunes – Lynn & Alex – ELIMINATED

Extra: Kris is back! After a hiatus last week (for shame!) Kris has her own excellent Amazing Race recap.

Bonus: Brainster also has a TAR update.