It’s been a while since I did an Amazing Race 14 episode recap, but I have to catch up and since I pledged to my friends at Reality Fan Forum that I would complete the season, I’m going to do so and recap the two episodes I’ve missed. We resume from where we left off in Russia in which Christie & Jodi were saved from elimination by the always welcomed non-elimination leg.
To spare me from writing and putting up a lot of vidcaps, I’m going to cheat in this and the next recap with the help of episode videos that CBS posted. That way, I can get through the recaps and it also helps you to relive and remember what happened.
We begin in Novosibirsk, Russia, the 5th pitstop in a race around the world. Margie & Luke who were the first to arrive at the Novosibirsk Ballet and Opera Theater will leave first at 12:18 a.m.
They find they’ll leave the cold winter climate of Siberia and fly some 2,000 miles to the hot summer climate of Jaipur, India.
Once in Jaipur, they’ll take a taxi to the outskirts of town to Dhula Village and find the Sacred Peepli Ka Pedh Tree where their next clue awaits.
Luke and Margie leaves and it’s here Luke signs that he’s happy with mom as a teammate and they have good chemistry. No eye roll this time. Luke is funny when he rolls his eyes talking about Margie. He likes having his mom doing the communicating while he does the strategizing. Remember in the fourth episode, Luke pulled out the Blind U-Turn on an unsuspecting Amanda & Kris gaining him the reputation of the vengeful deaf person. I think Luke likes that!
At 12:24 a.m., it’s Tammy & Victor’s turn to leave. Victor talks about the role of what he’s supposed to be as the first born son in his Asian family. He says the Amazing Race gives him the opportunity to go outside what’s expected and he likes that. Victor notes that the teams are instructed to get to Jaipur through Moscow.
Cara & Jaime leave just six minutes behind the Asian siblings. The Miami girls are looking forward to getting out of the cold and into the warmer climate.
Just over a half an hour later, father and son Mel & Mike who have been the most delightful team on this race head out. Mel says Mike may yell at him to keep up, but he also knows that dad is doing his best to keep up. Ain’t that the truth. Battling a groin injury, Mel just keeps plodding along and is managing to stay with the younger teams. Kudos to Mel!
At 1:02 a.m., just a minute after Mel & Mike are brothers Mark & Michael.
At the Novosibirsk Airport, Margie & Luke, Cara & Jaime and Tammy & Victor all book flights to Moscow and realize they’ll all be on the same jet to Jaipur so it doesn’t matter what time they leave Siberia.
Kisha & Jen leave the mat at 1:28 a.m. Kisha notes that she and Jen are getting along better now, but she still stresses out when they fight. Kisha says she just wants to have fun!
As Mel & Mike arrive at the Airport, Mel facetiously asks if anyone would want to fly on an airline named “Kacca”. Mel is so quick and so funny. He’s right, you know. Kacca could be the best airline in the world, but I wouldn’t want to fly on it.
Finally at 3:09 a.m., stewardesses Christie and Jodi get their clue and head for the airport knowing that there will be a Speed Bump somewhere along the way, a task only they will do, the penalty for them finishing last in the last leg. Christie says she’s worried about that Speed Bump. Jodi mentions that she’s thinking about her daughter and she’s wearing her daughter’s name on her bracelet. She hopes that will bring them some luck in this leg as they will definitely need some in this leg.
So all of the teams are flying from Moscow to New Dehli and then taking a 5:40 a.m. flight to Jaipur. The teams discover that Jaipur is chaos compared to what they saw in Siberia.
Teams pile out of the Jaipur Airport to find taxis to take them to Dhula Village. Tammy & Victor are able to get out first and head towards the tree. Christie & Jodi head out next. However, Mel & Mike find a driver who has no idea where to go and they get delayed heading out of the airport.
Mark & Michael get to a cab, but as Margie & Luke try to take their cab, the brothers insist and they take the taxi to the village. Mel & Mike’s driver wants to ask for directions, but the father & son want out and try to get their luggage out, however, the driver is nowhere to be seen leaving them stranded while the other teams like Cara & Jaime, Kisha & Jen and Margie & Luke to speed ahead of them. Finally the driver learns where to go, but Mel & Mike are several minutes behind.
Christie & Jodi have the misfortune to have their cab driver get out and gas up the car. This forces them to wait as other teams pass them to the village.
Then the teams take a look at the conditions in Jaipur causing Jaime and Luke to get emotional.
Tammy & Victor are the first to arrive in Dhula Village and the tree. Tammy notices a red phone. Victor picks it up, dials one of four numbers and listens, but he doesn’t understand what the message is telling him. So Tammy summons their cab driver and he discovers they’re to go to Amber Fort, Gaura Parvati Parking. Thank goodness the cab driver got it right because Victor wrote down “valet parking” which would have been totally wrong.
Right after Tammy & Victor is a caravan of five teams, Mark & Michael, Cara & Jaime, Margie & Luke, Kisha & Jen and Mel & Mike. Christie & Jodi are nowhere to be found. And as they leave to head to the fort, Tammy & Victor see the entire convoy of cabs in a line, heading to Dhula Village. Michael says, “Alright guys, we’re at war….” and you have your title of the episode. Kind of early, but not bad.
The five teams arrive at the village and look for clues in and around the tree, but not at the phone even though it’s right in front of them. Sometimes teams have a tendency to overthink things and not see what’s right under their noses and this is a classic example.
Finally, we see Christie & Jodi heading to the village. Tammy & Victor notice them and the siblings now realize they’re in first place.
Back at the tree, teams are looking high and low, not seeing that their clue is on the phone. Come on, guys, look down instead of looking up and straight ahead. Look down! Glove to the ground! Chop! Chop!
Finally, Jen & Kisha see it, then Margie & Luke. Cara & Jaime notice another phone and use that to find their clue. All of the teams eventually find where they’re to go. Not all of them understand, and the teams just decide to follow one another. So from a convoy to Dhula Village, it’s now a convoy to Amber Fort and the Guara Parvati Parking.
Christie & Jodi then notice more taxis heading in the opposite direction as they head to the village. They realize they’re in last place again. But they notice the phone right off the bat once in the village and they’re off and running to Amber Fort.
But at Amber Fort, Tammy & Victor have arrived and they get their clue. It’s a Road Block as we all know, a Road Block is a task that only one person may perform. In this Road Block, one team member must take care of one of India’s prized animals, a camel. They’ll choose a group of camels, then using a set of traditional tools, they must load and carry enough food and water to satisfy each of the camels in their group. Once the food reaches a designated line and the water spills out the trough, the camel master will hand them their next clue. Tammy decides that Victor will do this task. Let’s see how he does in this task.
Nice to see Victor sweat in this. Tammy notices other cabs are arriving and sure enough, it’s Mark & Michael followed by the others in the caravan. Mark will do it for his team. Jaime decides to do it for the reds. Kisha wants to feed the camels. Margie chooses to do the Road Block. Mel is up to doing this task. Let’s see how the teams do this task.
One quick reaction here. Jaime has got to calm down. Her reaction to the camel master not speaking English is very bad. Yeah, she’s impatient and I want to give her the benefit of the doubt from the editing, but sometimes the behavior will slip through and you can’t edit that.
And watching Mel at this point was painful, but he did rock through this task as we’ll see. But what was really painful was watching Kisha put hay into her shirt instead of using the traditional basket and pitch to shovel the hay.
Mark, Jaime and Margie used their water buckets to gather the hay. Mel spotted the basket and used that to carry the hay. Mel is so smart. He takes the time to read the clue. This is where he picked up time on the others
Over to Tammy & Victor where they have arrived at the Puppet Shop to get their next clue. They find that they’ve hit a Detour. As we all know, a Detour is a choice between two tasks, each with its own pros and cons.
In this Detour, the teams must decide between two tasks which will plunge them into the chaotic streets of Jaipur. The choice? Movers or Shakers.
In Movers, teams must go to Sanganeri Gate, then choose a cycle rickshaws filled high with barrels. They’ll transport their barrels by pedaling one and a half miles through the congested and confusing streets of Jaipur to another gate. Then they search the barrels to find a small metal elephant which they can exchange for their next clue.
In Shakers, the teams will travel to a busy intersection, put on traditional costumes and makeup, then join a Rajistani dance troupe. Then they’ll shake their hips for tips. Once they’ve earned 100 Rupees, they’ll take it the bandleader and exchange the rupees for their next clue.
Tammy & Victor decide their shake their bootys for a booty of cash. I’m so clever.
Both of them put on makeup, threw on a horse costume and went out into the streets of Jaipur to beg for cash. Victor said he and Tammy definitely broke the stereotype of lawyers that day.
Back to the camels, Mel is gaining time by using the bucket. The other teams are using their buckets or in the case of Kisha, stuffing hay down her shirt. But eventually, the members sitting out the Road Block notice Mel using the basket and they point it out to their teammates. Jaime can’t believe she didn’t see it. Kisha says she looked over to the baskets and didn’t think of using them. Mel just continues to be steady and he’s winning this segment.
We quickly look at Tammy & Victor who are collecting the Rupees.
Mel has finally finished his task and he’s received the clue before any of the teams that were in his caravan! Way to go, Mel! You truly rock!!!! And as they get into their taxi to head back into Jaipur Proper, Mike said, “My dad just smoked the Road Block.” He truly did.
In quick succession, Jaime, Margie and Kisha pile their hay to the proper marker and they all get their clues. This leaves Mark & Michael and Christie & Jodi vying to leave next. Christie is confident knowing they can finish tasks quickly. But it’s Mark who finishes next leaving the stewardesses in last again. As Michael reads the clue, he notices that there’s a Speed Bump ahead foreshadowing what Christie & Jodi are up against. And Jodi is able to finish and they’re off to the Puppet Shop.
Over to Tammy & Victor who have gathered the necessary 100 Rupees. They
take it over to the bandleader who exchanges the money for the next clue. The siblings find that they’re to go to the pit stop, the Jaigarh Fort, a 15th Century fortress. The last team to check in may be eliminated.
Mel & Mike get to the Puppet Shop and they decide to shake for cash. They get into costume and they have fun dancing.
In the meantime, Mark & Michael have caught up to Margie & Luke, Kisha & Jen and Cara & Jaime. It’s here where Jaime says the honking of horns is driving her up the wall. There’s nothing I can say here. All I can do is shrug.
Mel & Mike were impressed with the spirit of the people in Jaipur. Mike said there was so much poverty, but people were generous and were willing to give money.
At the Puppet Shop, Mark & Michael beat Kisha & Jen to the clue box. The brothers inexplicably do the elephant in the haystack. Kisha & Jen will dance. Margie & Luke will shake as will cheerleaders Cara & Jaime.
Jen said she had no problem putting on a costume and acting the fool. Luke said even though his ears are broken, he could read people’s faces and knew how to dance and shake. The kid is amazing. Asides from using the U-Turn, I love his fighting spirit.
Mark & Michael find the rickshaws and head off to ride a mile and a half through the streets of Jaipur.
Christie & Jodi reach the Puppet Shop and lo and behold, it’s the dreaded Speed Bump! In this Speed Bump, the stewardesses will head to a temple where they will use colored paint to decorate an elephant for upcoming festival. Once they’ve decorated the elephant to the satisfaction of the Mahut, they’ll be able to resume and hope to make up their lost time.
Over to Mel and Mike who have now gathered enough Rupees to leave. Margie & Luke must continue to get the Rupees. Cara & Jaime continue to dance as do Kisha & Jen. Mark & Michael bike through the streets of Jaipur and have yet to start looking for their small metal elephant.
But at the pit stop, Tammy & Victor have arrived.
The greeter playing instruments with his nose is pretty cool.
Mel & Mike now have exchanged their cash for their clue and can now head to the pit stop.
Mike thought Margie’s lipstick was hilarious. Come to think of it, she was wearing too much.
At the Speed Bump, Christie & Jodi refuse to give up. Jodi says she wants to teach her daughter never to give and she can do whatever she puts mind to. Certainly this team did itself proud.
Over to the Shakers task, the three remaining teams there are still collecting money, but Cara & Jaime have enough to leave. But can they leave?
So Cara & Jaime and Margie & Luke are on their way to the pit stop. Kisha & Jen have now collected the 100 Rupees and they’re taking off so they can check in at the mat.
Over to Mark & Michael, they’re riding their bikes and have finally arrived at their destination to start looking for the elephant in the barrel of hay. Good luck, gentlemen. That’s not the task I would have chosen.
Finally, Christie & Jodi have arrived back at the Puppet Store and they’ll do the Shakers Detour. Kisha & Jen are leaving the task while Christie & Jodi are just beginning. And you have Mark & Michael unloading their barrels. This is nervewracking.
At the pitstop, the amazing Mel & Mike have checked in second. Mike tells Phil that Mel smoked the competition many of whom were in their 20’s. Mel says hearing that was worth more than a million dollars. He says making his kid proud was the prize for him in this race. When I grow up, I want to be just like Mel.
Over to Mark & Michael, they can’t find the small elephant. Just what were they thinking in choosing this task?
And Christie & Jodi have finished their task ahead of Mark & Michael. Can they survive another leg?
But Michael is able to find that small elephant in the hay and they can head out.
At the mat, Kisha & Jen, Margie & Luke and Cara & Jaime all arrive virtually within seconds of each other in 3rd, 4th and 5th respectively. All look happy to survive to race another day.
Looking quite stressed out are Mark & Michael and Christie & Jodi. Both teams know that they could be last, but don’t know for sure.
The stewardesses say they won’t give up until they hear it officially from Phil. Mark & Michael says they’re not exactly sure where they are, but they know they’re still in the race for now.
It’s a race to the finish between the two teams, and it’s Mark & Michael who get 6th with Christie & Jodi right behind them.
And as we learn, this is an elimination leg. Damn. And Christie & Jodi become the first all-female team to be eliminated this season, but they have absolutely nothing to be ashamed about. They ran their own race. They rocked the tasks. Just luck of the draw and they were seconds behind Mark & Michael. Had their driver not stopped for gas earlier in this episode, they might still be racing. Oh well. I’ll miss them.
So our official order of finish:
1. Tammy & Victor – winners of Kayaks
2. Mel & Mike
3. Kisha & Jen
4. Margie & Luke – 4th again!
5. Cara & Jaime
6. Mark & Michael
7. Christie & Jodi – eliminated by seconds. Too bad.
In lieu of giving you a preview of the next episode, I’ll give you Elimination Station as Christie & Jodi are the next team to arrive and they discover there’s some tension between the teams.
Our next recap will come later today.
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