Amazing Race 13 episode 7: Delhi, India where karma can get you

by Jamie Rhein on

After last week’s dash in Delhi that ended at the Baha’i House, Starr & Nick were the first ones to head out again into Delhi’s traffic for episode 7 of Amazing Race 13. This week’s episode was one traffic jam after another and a mix of what makes life in Delhi so darned interesting. Colorful. Literally. It was also an episode where people who are snide don’t come out ahead. It’s karma, baby, karma.

Travel Tips from this episode:

  • Working with others can benefit everyone. Don’t be a loner all the time
  • The bigger vehicle is not the best one to take through a traffic jam
  • When stuck in traffic, get out of the vehicle and direct the flow to give yourself a pathway to move forward
  • Be observant. When one way of doing a task is not working, don’t keep repeating yourself. Try something else.

Recap and cultural highlights:

If this was Holi in Delhi, the timing couldn’t have been better for an authentic cultural experience with some Amazing Race craziness mixed in, however as a person who has been to a Holi celebration, the volume of this episode’s depiction was turned up several notches.

When each team arrived for the first task at Deshbandu Apartments where a Holi celebration was taking place, one of the team members was to run through the crowd of celebrating people and up a ladder-like tower where dozens of Amazing Race colored envelopes hung. Six of the envelopes had the next clue. The others said “Try again.” As each person ran to the tower and up it to search through the envelopes, the crowd pelted him or her with colorful powder and sprayed water to make a real mess.

In the typical Indian version of Holi, people throw colored powder on each other in fun, but not in the thick clouds as shown in the episode. The idea–sort of–is to celebrate the rejuvenation of spring with colors. People often come wearing white, and have control over how covered in colors they want to be–mostly.

When I went to a Holi celebration, my face was smudged a bit, but I hung back. Kids go nuts. As with any Indian holiday, food is also an important part, and all ages are included.

Unfortunately, the teams in the Amazing Race had no idea what the celebration signifies–and as with any cultural experience that’s not your own, personalities show through. Plus, their version of Holi was not totally accurate.

Christy & Kelly had the hardest time. Personally, I think it’s because they’re so busy making fun of people and thinking that they’re the greatest thing since sliced bread, that they miss details. Tasks come hard to them. Last episode they made fun of Dallas. This week, they were making swipes at Andrew & Dan.

This episode showed Holi as payback. Each time Kelly grabbed the wrong clue and had to run once more into the fray of revelers, I looked for a sympathetic twinge in my heart and couldn’t find one. When she tripped and fell, oh well.

Dallas & Toni caught onto the essence of Holi even though they didn’t know it. Later in the episode, when Dallas, still tinted pink, was running down the road in the midst of pack of kids, Toni brimmed with love at the joy she saw in his face.

After the faux Holi celebration, it was off to the Jain Temple where the Charity Birds Hospital is housed. As with all temples in India, people must take their shoes off before entering. Nick wasn’t thrilled with the idea of walking around barefoot and had no idea why the birds were there. Were the birds sick or were they supposed to be therapy for sick people, he wondered. Seriously, Nick. Don’t you have any cultural know how? It says Charity Birds Hospital above the door, for heaven’s sake. The hospital was founded by the Jains in 1956 to take care of wounded or sick birds and is based on the Jain religious belief that has a high aversion to killing.

Sarah was the most in tuned to the plight of the sick and wounded birds as she and Terrence searched the cages for the next clue. I love the way these two keep calling each other “Babe.” It doesn’t matter what they’re doing. It’s endearing.

Before Tina & Ken could look for the next clue in the Charity Birds hospital, they had to perform their Speed Bump. Tina, now with green hair (and green is the worst for not coming out from blond hair) & Ken headed to the Sikh Temple where they helped give water to the throngs of worshipers. Here, Tina was back to being culturally sensitive after calling the fellows that doused her in green powder, “morons.”

This temple scene was a high point of the episode because of the authentic interactions. Tina, in particular, recognized that she was in a holy place and felt compelled to do a good job. Her “God bless yous” as she handed out glass after glass was rather touching.

After the visit to the Charity Birds Hospital came two Road Block choices: Bleary Eyed and Teary Eyed. In Bleary Eyed, the teams were to follow the small numbers of the electrical wires along a very narrow street in Delhi. Once they reached a man with a sewing machine, they were to give him the series of numbers they found. If they were right, he gave them the location of their next clue which would lead them to the Pit Stop at Humayun’s tomb, a complex of mausoleums built in the 16th Century.

This was an older section of the city, I imagine. As buildings are wired for electricity, the tangle increases. The numbers help keep the circuits straight. I can vouch that all of Delhi’s wiring is not like this, however it the wiring and the traffic indicate a city that is teaming with people.

In Teary Eyed, the teams were to head to a market, pick up two 40 pound bags of dried chilies (one each) and carry them to Sharwan Kumar & Sons, a spice business where they were to pulverize 35 ounces of it into powder by using a mortar and pestle. Sarah & Terrence are the only two who picked this option. In the middle of calling each other “Babe” and pounding away, they choked a bit on the chilies’ fiery fumes.

Nick & Starr and Dallas & Toni arrived at Nai Sarak Street for their number hunting in about the same time, and after they discovered the numbers, decided that if they worked together, they’d get finished faster. Both teams plugged in the Ganesha at the store the tailor sent them but, once they were in their Tuk-tuk taxis, skill had nothing to do with who would get to the Pit Stop first. Traffic means everything.

Traffic threatened to do Ken & Tina in after they completed their speed bump and were catching up, but Ken got out of the taxi to part traffic which worked like a charm.

Finding the numbers was a horrific task for Christy & Kelly and Andrew & Dan. It took them forever to find out what to look for. After Ken & Tina figured out the system, they pointed out a number to Dan & Andrew before they hopped back in their taxi they had wait for them. That’s the way to be nice.

Christy & Kelly who have not been nice to anyone on the whole trip arrived at the Pit Stop last. Ha! Yes!

Who won this episode? Nick and Starr–again. I’m growing weary of them winning all the time, but my impression of them went up a notch when they worked with Toni & Dallas and seemed to enjoy it. I do wish Starr would quit cavorting around in her running bra. It irks me. She’s not in Survivor.

What did they win?: A trip to Kauai, Hawaii

Christy & Kelly’s words of travel wisdom: Keep being each others support system. As much as these two bothered me because of their snide ways, I was impressed with how well they got along with each other. No matter how many problems they might have had, they didn’t snipe at each other once.

For recaps and videos from Amazing Race 13, check out the web site.

Photo of the Day (11-5-08)

by Jamie Rhein on

Originally, I chose this shot because of the radio that is somewhere in this barbershop in India. Lecerle mentions it in his essay that accompanies his artistry at Gadling’s photo pool.

I wanted a radio shot because of a line in Obama’s acceptance speech last night. He mentioned people gathered around radios around the world listening to the news. I thought about all the people I’ve seen gathered around radios whenever I’ve traveled. No matter how remote a corner peoole are on the planet, a radio pulls them into the rest of humanity.

The shot also attracted me because of its stage like quality–a scene just waiting for the actors to show up. Plus, the essay is a lovely trip to an Indian barber. I wonder what the buzz is here today and what words are coming out of the radio?

To have your photo considered for Photo of the Day, post it here.

Amazing Race 13, episode 6: Delhi, India is hard work

by Jamie Rhein on

After a few lovely shots of Bayon Temple the teams were off in The Amazing Race 13, episode 6 to Delhi, India–my old stomping ground.

Although all teams scored the same flight from Siem Reap, Cambodia, the setting of episode 5, once they hit the airport in Delhi, the order in which each team left the temple was irrelevant. Ah, yes, as they dashed through the airport, there were the familar rows of uncomfortable chairs just outside customs in the main waiting area of the building.

Nick’s predictions of “heat, confusion, and crowds” was exactly right. Delhi is that and more. Nick could have thrown in cows, cows and more cows for a more accurate picture. I was looking for an elephant, and later on in the episode–bingo.

Travel Tips:

  • Use the Internet at the airport to help you locate where you need to go at your destination.
  • Have a taxi driver wait for you when you are making a stop. It can save time later.
  • Ditch the taxi driver for another one if you continue to get lost, no matter if your driver is a nice person.
  • Use terms of endearment with your traveling partner like “Babe” to help diffuse tense situations.
  • If you’re female, don’t wear shorts and spaghetti strap tank tops in India. They’re culturally insensitive.

Cultural highlights and recap: First stop was the Moonlight Motors, a drive into downtown Delhi that made the Andrew & Dan team notice that, compared to India, “Cambodia was child’s play.” As the traffic choked the streets, hands flapped to create a breeze in the stifling heat.

The massive amounts of vehicles, cows and people that barely streaming forward gave Tina the idea that they had landed in Delhi at the wrong time for easy-going travel. How true.

Although traffic in Delhi can be overwhelming, there are hours when it’s not that bad. However, with their rush hour arrival time, I bet they were settled into their taxis by 5:30 or 6:00 p.m., one of the worst hours for going anywhere.

Getting to Moonlight Motors wasn’t easy for Terrence & Sarah, Kelly & Christy or Tina & Ken. Due to no fault of theirs, their taxi drivers had no idea where to go. Tina & Ken were still going in circles while Nick, Andrew & Dan, and Dallas & Toni were finishing their first task–painting the bottom half of auto-rickshaw taxis green.

There’s a movement in India to convert auto-rickshaw taxis’ engines so that they will run on CNG (compressed natural gas), a fuel that is more environmentally friendly. Taxis that have been switched are painted green at the bottom like the one in the photo taken by Avinash Meetoo. The top half remains yellow. The effort is working and air quality is gradually improving.

While the first three teams arrived at the taxi park when it was still daylight, the last three arrived after dark, an indication of just how long they were lost.

Painting the auto-rickshaw involved covering the parts not to be painted with newspaper, donning a paint mask and using a spray can to evenly spray on the paint–all arduous tasks that are exacerbated under pressure. If there are any indications that one should NOT direct the actions of the person who is your traveling companion, this segment was it.

The more Terrence and Tina cajoled and directed Sarah and Ken to paint faster and do the task a certain way, the more the two painters became frustrated. Ken stayed silent, but Sarah told Terrence several times to, in essence, “back off Babe.” The term of endearment kept her from going off her rocker, I imagine.

Andrew finished first, much to this team’s glee, but their lead was lost when they couldn’t find a taxi right away. That’s Delhi for you. Taxis, although plentiful at times, can be evasive when most needed.

Tina & Ken did the smart thing and told their driver to stay, however, their driver had no better sense of direction after Ken finished painting his taxi then he did before. Hopelessly lost, they finally ditched him for another driver.

Once the taxis were converted to green, the teams headed to the colonial style Ambassador Hotel to find the guard in the garden who held their clues with the choice of their Roadblock tasks, two more indications of how labor intensive India is. Pick a job, any job, and you’ll find someone doing it by hand.

The Roadblock four of the teams chose, Launder Clothes where the teams headed by taxi to dhobi ghat, a communal area where laundry workers called dhobis wash, dry and iron clothing in order to make a living. The irons are the old fashioned kind filled with hot coals.

As a cultural note, in India it is very common for people to hire a dhobi to do laundry, even people with a modest income. When we lived in Delhi, our dhobi did our laundry twice a week, although there was a regular laundry room with washers and dryers where we lived. Hiring people to do household tasks is one way to keep the Indian economy flowing.

Each team had to iron 20 articles of clothing that ranged from shirts to pants. Once all items passed inspection by the real female dhobis who supervised their work, the teams were handed their clues that led them to the Pit Stop.

The dhobi section was where the contrast between Western dress and traditional Indian dress for women was most apparent. The Indian women looked elegant and stately, even though they were traditional laborers. This photo by Meanest Woman is typical. The American women, except for Toni who consistently wears a T-shirt, are dressed totally inappropriately for Indian sensibilities of what is considered decent attire.

I kept thinking, Starr, Starr, Starr, I don’t care if you’re hot, put your shirt back on. Christy and Kelly have long ago lost a sense of where they are in the world and are wearing shorts. Even Andrew & Dan commented on their cultural gaffe. I’m not saying that these are decent women, they are clueless though when it comes to appropriate dress.

The other Roadblock, “Launder Money” lead to a fairly accurate excursion into an Indian wedding and the difficulty of finding correct change. The teams who picked this one had a complicated task of acquiring the right number of rupee notes in the right denominations in order to make a traditional groom’s necklace. The next step was to find a groom to give the necklace to.

The elephant in this episode was outside the wedding hall. It’s common for a groom to come riding to a wedding on an elephant. Horses are also used. Also present were horn playing and throngs of dancing people. The noise can be overwhelming, but the weddings I’ve been to are not this crowded. I bet this was a setting designed specifically for The Amazing Race. The elements were there though, including the dais where the bride and groom sits and what they wore.

What was missing from the Amazing Race scene were the tables laden with wonderful food.

Unlike traditional, typical American weddings, in a traditional Indian wedding, the bride and groom don’t get down on the dance floor with the guests, but sit at the edge overseeing the festivities. Both team Sarah & Terrence and Ken and Tina had a hard time locating the groom because the kept looking in the center of the crowd. Finally they found him.

(In this photo by Dahon, the groom is wearing a flower garland. He is waiting for the bride to show up. When she does, she’ll sit where the child is.)

While these two teams were searching for their groom, poor Andrew & Dan’s life as frat boys were haunting them. They had a heck of a time ironing. The dhobi wallah overseeing their efforts shook her head, almost woefully, but would not let up until their pile was perfect. A gust of wind blew half their clothes to the ground which didn’t help. Oh, I felt bad.

As the end came near with Ken & Tina, yet having another problem finding a taxi and getting chased by dogs, and Andrew & Dan finally finishing their last shirt, the suspense built as Phil waited for them at the Pit Stop at the Baha’i House the world headquarters of the Baha’i faith. Andrew & Dan came dashing in 5th place leaving Tina & Ken to pull up the rear.

Who won this round? Nick and Starr–again. Their lack of bickering and focus helps. Plus, I think they are used to winning. They’re wired to win. I still don’t want them to win. They are not underdogs enough for me.

What did they win? An electric car each. As Phil off-handedly pointed out, Delhi is certainly an indication that the world needs clean air.

Who was eliminated? NO ONE!

After how hard Andrew & Dan ironed, but not all that well, and how many times Tina & Don got lost because of their bum luck with taxi drivers, I would have been so sad if one of these teams was eliminated. This ending was one to tug at heartstrings.

Andrew & Dan were over the top, whooping it up joyous, and Ken was tearful, making the connection between the need for a comeback to win the Amazing Race, and a need for a boost to save his and Tina’s marriage. As he sat tearful, struggling to talk Tina gave him a tender rub on his cheek.

For the life of me, I can’t quite figure how why the two of them don’t seem to think they get along. Have they paid much attention to other married couples who are traveling together?

For their last place standing, they face a Speed Bump next week, a task only Tina & Ken have to do before catching up with the other teams.

I wondered why there wasn’t a shot of the Baha’i Temple. It’s shaped like a lotus flower and quite lovely.

“Fertility Clinic Tourism” on the Rise in India

by Josh Lew on

Relaxed regulations and cheap costs have made India a hotbed for in vitro fertilization (IVF). Couples looking to conceive through artificial means are coming from all over the globe to take advantage of these fertility services. The Indian Society for Assisted Reproduction (ISAR) claims that there are nearly 400 fertility clinics in the country. These were visited by 30,000 patients in the past year. According to some doctors, half of their patients come from overseas. And why not? Quality IVF procedures at a clinic in a major city like Mumbai cost about one-third of what they do in the US. Even after airfare, a couple stands to save thousands of dollars.

The boom means that there is a big demand for egg donors, who can earn between $200 and $1000 per donation. Medical tourism, in general, is on the rise in India. Elective procedures cost a fraction of what the do in the US and Europe and most top Indian doctors have been trained in Western medical schools, meaning their skills are on par with the best American and European surgeons. Because of these factors, India expects medical tourism to account for $2 billion in revenue by 2012.

Vahrehvah.com: A superb resource for Indian cooking

by Abha Malpani on

Finding this Indian cooking website has changed my world. I can cook basic Indian food, thanks to my mum, but when it comes to anything a little complicated, I get a lazy — especially because (from experience) — after a hours of work, the end result has not been worth the effort. I would also blame the disaster dish on me living in Spain: “All the spices are not available and what are available just don’t taste the same.” It’s all rubbish. What I needed was a good guide and I think this is it!

A bad translation of “vah reh vah” in English would be “that’s just awesome”, but it’s enough to give you the gist. The website has recipes of over 230 Indian dishes, but the best part is that many of the Indian recipes have a video guide to go with them.

The “Vah chef” Sanjay Thumma is a great host. Very Indian. But great. His passion and talent for cooking is evident in the videos. For example, in his video that teaches you how to prepare Hydrabadi Biryani (one my favorite Indian dishes), he gets a little emotional in the end; when he tastes what he made, I’m pretty sure that his eyes welled-up with joy!

Another element key in making this website a super hit: Since it is targeted towards non-resident Indians, he often mentions in his recipes ingredient replacements should you not be able to find something specific in your country. You can also help yourself on this front by checking out the site’s Cook’s Thesaurus.

You can also access Sanjay Thumma’s video channel on YouTube. He is quite a personality, you will enjoy watching him. He has won a gold medal for his recipes in the All-India Chefs competition for culinary arts, and all the video work is his own production done in his digital studio, that by the way, has just gone HD!

Other than Indian food, there are recipes for other cuisines; however they don’t have video content. A must visit if you want to cook some good Indian food.