TAR20, Recap Leg 10, 4/29/12

Welcome to Leg 10! Last time, on Bollywood Dreams, teams raced from Tanzania to India. Team Kentucky got stuck at the Roadblock, which caused them to finish last. Mark started suffereing from a heat related illness, but the boys stuck it out and finished to find the third non-elimination leg. Who will be eliminated. . . next? (click for more)

Arrival at the pit stop last episode:
1st – Rachel/Dave , Team Free Ron Again!
2nd – Brendon/Rachel, Team Sparkles
3rd – Art/JJ, Team Patrulla Fronteriza
4th – Vanessa/Ralph, The Dating Divorcees
5th – Bopper/Mark, The Kentucky Hillbillies

Bolgatty Palace, Cochin, India

6:53 AM Rachel/Dave (1st)
Clue: Make your way to Cheranallur and find the temple in order to get a blessing from the priest and receive your next clue. You have $25 for this leg of the race.

Dave extols on the fact that he thinks they are the strongest team left. And he’s probably right. (Toyouke: “I find it interesting they emphasized that Rachel and Dave "won" the last leg, as opposed to "finished first".”)

7:20 AM Brendon/Rachel (2nd) – Brendon reminds Rachel to not be emotional. You may also want to avoid drinking that haterade.
7:28 AM Art/JJ (3rd)
7:32 AM Vanessa/Ralph (4th)
10:38 AM Bopper/Mark (5th) – and Mark is not doing well at all. (Toyouke: “It's not a good sign when your team doesn't leave the Pit Stop until halfway through the episode.”)

Teams arrive at the temple in Cheranallur.

However, once they arrive, Bopper and Mark find the Speed Bump.

SPEED BUMP:

A speed bump is a task that must be performed by the last place team on a non-elimination leg. Once they complete this task, they may return to the place where the speed bump occurred and continue the leg. In this speed bump, teams must paint a tiger on the belly of a traditional Pulikali dancer in order to get their next clue.

Teams complete the Speed Bump in the following order:

1- Bopper/Mark – Bopper: “I have no problem with painting, it’s just strange when it’s on a man’s belly.” (Toyouke: “That's a pretty good tiger.”)

After much tiger painting, they continue with the rest of the teams to the next task in the following order:

1- Rachel/Dave
2- Brendon/Rachel
3- Vanessa/Ralph
4- Art/JJ
5- Bopper/Mark

Teams get their blessings from the priest and get their next clue. Rachel and Dave open their clue and find. . . a Fast Forward!

FAST FORWARD:

Recall that a fast forward is a task that can be performed to allow one team to skip all remaining tasks and head directly to the pit stop. However, each team may only use their fast forward power once on the race, so they must decide when it is more advantageous to use it. In this, the third (!?!?) fast forward on this race, teams must travel to a nearby Hindu temple to perform the traditional good luck ceremony of shaving your head. Sound familiar? That’s because this is a Switchback, a task previously performed on the race in the same location. This one is from TAR7, allowing Uchenna and Joyce to move into first place, setting up their Amazing Race win. So, woot. Once complete, they get their next clue and skip all remaining tasks and travel directly to the Pit Stop.

Teams decide to go for the Fast Forward in the following order:

1- Brendon/Rachel – (Toyouke: “Oh, Rachel. Had you EVER watched this show you would know what an "Indian good-luck ritual" is.”)
2- Bopper/Mark

So – hair shaving, or lack thereof. Rachel freaks out, sending her and Brendon back into the thick of the other teams. (Toyouke: “You paid $500 for extensions? Why did you get extensions right before you were going to be tearing around the world without showering? You know what, that is a stupid question because it's Rachel.”) Bopper and Mark have no problem doing it, partially because they are boys, and partially because Mark’s head is already shaved. They get the clue, and head toward the Pit Stop. (Toyouke: “If the Fast Forward actually saves a last place team instead of just being used to keep the first place team in first place, that will be fantastic. But I wonder if they are too far behind.”)

The rest of the teams are instructed to travel to Pattanacoir Coir Mats and Matting. They arrive in the following order:

1- Vanessa/Ralph
2- Rachel/Dave
3- Art/JJ
4- Brendon/Rachel

We then get the ninth roadblock clue.

ROADBLOCK:

Who’s at the end of their rope?

In this roadblock, one team member must work in a fifty year old rope making facility to create a 40 foot rope of coconut husk. Once complete, roadblockers take four bundles of rope and wrap them onto a spindle to get their next clue. Brendon and Bopper must complete the task, if they attempt it.

The following teammates take the Roadblock:

1- Ralph
2- Dave
3- Art
4- Brendon

After weaving, teams complete the Roadblock in the following order:

1- Vanessa/Ralph
2- Rachel/Dave
3- Art/JJ
4- Brendon/Rachel – (Toyouke: “Oh honey, it'll take a LOT more than hair to make you pretty. You have to compensate for your personality.”)

Teams now make their way to Fort Kochi and search for the barber under the ancient tree to get their clue. Vanessa rolls her ankle en route. Teams arrive in the following order:

1- Rachel/Dave
2- Vanessa/Ralph
3- Brendon/Rachel
4- Art/JJ

And we get the Detour Clue.

DETOUR:
Pachyderm OR Pack a Box
*Pachyderm: Teams must properly decorate an elephant with a headdress and golden ornaments, and then transport 15 wheelbarrows full of elephant manure to a nearby truck, before receiving their next clue from the master of ceremonies.
*Pack a Box: Teams must head to a ginger processing center, collect 10 empty boxes, fill them with ginger that they have sifted to measure to the right weight, and then stencil the label on the box. Once the distribution manager is pleased with their work, he will give them their next clue.

1- Rachel/Dave choose Pachyderm
2- Vanessa/Ralph choose Pachyderm
3- Brendon/Rachel choose Pachyderm
4- Art/JJ choose Pack a Box

Teams complete the detour in the following order:

1- Rachel/Dave
2- Vanessa/Ralph
3- Brendon/Rachel
4- Art/JJ

Teams find now that they must take a ferry to the Cheena Vala Fishing Nets, the PIT STOP of the tenth leg of this racearoundtheworld. The last team to arrive MAY be eliminated!

1- Rachel/Dave – who win $10000 each.
2- Brendon/Rachel
3- Vanessa/Ralph
4- Art/JJ
5- Bopper/Mark

And Bopper and Mark are eliminated. And now I have no one to root for.

ORDER NOW:
1st – Rachel/Dave
2nd – Brendon/Rachel
3rd – Vanessa/Ralph
4th – Art/JJ
Next week: Two hour finale! Tempers flare! We visit a Japanese game show! And in the final leg, one team neglects to complete a task and tries to check in at the finish line! See you then!