Namaste and hello everyone, here's my review of the latest episode of TAR S35 E6 in Jaipur, India. We do have a lot to get through but as always, let's first look at how the average rankings have changed after this exciting leg with the U-turn.
Average rankings after leg 6 in Japiur, India
- Rob & Corey = 3.33
- Steve & Anna Leigh = 3.83
- Greg & John = 4.16
- Todd & Ashlie = 4.5
- Joel & Garrett = 5.5
- Morgan & Lena = 6.16
- Robbin & Chelsea = 7.16
- Andrea & Malaina = 7.66
- Liam & Yeremi = 8.33 (eliminated in Jaipur)
There is some very interesting movement after this leg as a result of the U-turn, Greg & John have moved up nearer to the top of the leader board and have now become the team to beat. However, I daresay the averages for the top 3 teams are so close that I can see any of those 3 teams making it to the final, though after 6 legs, it is still early days as we are only halfway through the season. At least this time, the weakest team got eliminated - that does makes sense as the statistics takes all of my human emotion out of the equation and makes a prediction based on the past results. Sigh, let's talk about Liam & Yeremi's unfortunate elimination as I feel really bad for these guys, they were a team that I liked but I suspected it was inevitable given how the statistics never lie. They were such a great team and I'm sorry to see them go.
Liam & Yeremi never stood a chance, they were doomed from the start.
Liam & Yeremi got a rickshaw driver who kept getting lost - despite the fact that they left at about the same time as Morgan & Lena, it took them so long to find the location of their detour that they had already fallen to last place by then. They didn't actually struggle when it come to the actual detour and roadblock, it was just precious time lost whilst driving around in circles, hopelessly lost. Some of the other teams had a really hard time on this leg - Joel & Garrett struggled with the relentless heat and nearly passed out from heatstroke, Robbin had a total meltdown on the block printing roadblock and of course, Steve & Anna Leigh got U-turned (more on that later). Is it fair that this elimination came down to just plain bad luck as Liam & Yeremi got a driver who couldn't navigate the streets of Jaipur whilst the others had better drivers? Do you think that the production team should have enforced some kind of quality control in making sure that at least all the auto rickshaws were working properly and that the drivers were all reasonably competent? Or do you accept that getting a bad taxi driver has always just been a part of the TAR process and when you go on the race, you hope for the best but expect the worst? Should luck play such a big part in determining the outcome in TAR or am I just upset that another team that I like has been eliminated? Or could you argue that any other team could have picked that rickshaw driver and this was just down to plain bad luck and could they have survived this leg if they had a better driver?
Two of my three predictions were right, I am getting better at this.
Okay so two of my predictions from last week were right - Greg & John did win this leg and it was indeed Steve & Anna Leigh who were U-turned. However, I was totally wrong about the team being eliminated: I thought that Joel & Garrett might totally fall apart in the heat (that was the impression that we were given in the previews) but they bounced back to finished a very respectable 3rd despite really struggling in the extremely hot weather - well done guys. Liam & Yeremi were not shown struggling in the previews (we only saw them contemplating which team to U-turn), hence the moral of the story is that they would never do a spoiler by telling you which team is going to be eliminated. I really should just look at the average ranking statistics, rather than depend on the previews - after all, the previews should not contain spoilers.
Why was Anna Leigh kicking up a fuss?
When Anna Leigh got to the detour, she was upset that she had been U-turned and started interrogating the others there. When Corey admitted U-turning her, she vented her anger on him. I just rolled my eyes and thought, girl, did you even know what you have signed up for? This is a race for a million dollars, did you think the others were just going to be nice to you and hand you that prize money instead of trying to win it for themselves? What were you expecting? If she had been a lot younger, I would be a lot more forgiving but she is already 28 years old - yet she does come across as very naïve when it comes to the competition. The U-turn is and always has been a part of TAR and in this case, the teams couldn't opt out of it - it was a compulsory U-turn. In the current series of TAR Australia S7, there is a mother and son team Jana & Cor; Cor is just 16 years old and even though he is extremely tall and thus does look like a grown man, there are times when he does speak and act like a child, especially when he is under a lot of stress. That is when I instantly think, okay let's cut him some slack here, Cor is after all only 16 years old - we can't judge him by the same standards as we judge other adults on the race. But in Anna Leigh's case, her immaturity does remind me of Cor but at the age of 28, she has no excuse and that is why I feel the right to judge her a lot more harshly. The U-turn shouldn't have come as a surprise to her at all, they have just won a leg so naturally they would have a target on their backs. However, getting angry with the others simply won't win her any friends at this stage, it would only further isolate them from the other teams. The U-turn has been done, so no amount of venting could change what has already happened. I would simply say, "I take it as a compliment that you guys actually thought we were a threat but I think there are other much stronger teams you should be looking out for such as Greg & John. Don't waste your U-turn on us guys." After all, this is reality TV, it would be wise to behave in a more classy manner rather than just throw a tantrum when you are frustrated. In leg 4, I thought she was a hypocrite, in leg 6, I now think she is just plain childish and immature. She came across as a spoilt brat with poor social skills who was oblivious to the fact that she was not going to always get her way.
Why was the vote so close - why were Robbin & Chelsea even a target?
The outcome of the U-turn vote surprised me! I knew that Steve & Anna Leigh were the obvious target but why Robbin & Chelsea? Yes they have won leg 4 in Vietnam, but statistically, they are not a strong team at all - their average ranking in this leg puts them 3rd from the bottom and after the last leg, they were 4th from the bottom. Why did they get so many votes in the U-turn? After all, they are not one of the stronger teams in the top half so far if you were to look at their performance overall through the 6 legs so far. With no disrespect, there was definitely an element of luck involved in the roadblock on leg 4 which allowed them to win that leg but if you were to look at how they have performed overall so far, they do not pose a threat, especially when it comes to the task which require more physical effort. One has to be strategic when it comes to using the U-turn: there is no point in U-turning a team so far ahead that they have enough of a time buffer to complete both sides and still not be eliminated; there is also no point in U-turning a weak team that will eventually finish last in the coming legs. Thus it would make more sense to target a team that has been in the middle of the pack: you have a realistic chance of getting rid of them with the U-turn. It is time for me to talk about an underrated team that has sailed under the radar so far: Todd & Ashlie. I'm astonished they didn't even get a single vote in the U-turn.
Todd & Ashlie are so underrated - look at their consistency.
Why didn't any of the teams go for Todd & Ashlie at the U-turn? Statistically, they are the 4th strongest team at the moment but they are super consistent. They have never finished a leg beyond 5th place, that means that they are highly unlikely to run a bad leg even if they have yet to win a leg. Greg & John have finished 8th twice in legs 3 and 4, Rob & Corey have finished 6th in leg 5 whilst Steve & Anna Leigh have finished 6th twice and 7th in this leg. Whilst these teams are strong, they are not consistent. Given how Todd & Ashlie have been consistently avoiding making any big mistakes, I can see them go all the way to the finals and even win the season. Am I the only one who has noticed just how strong they are? They started the last leg in 5th place and they would have been a more strategic target for the U-turn given how they have far less of a lead compared to Steve & Anna Leigh and this would have been a chance to get rid of a team that is as strong (if not stronger) than Steve & Anna Leigh. I think the other teams are going to regret not taking this chance to try to get rid of Todd & Ashlie because they are going all the way: they are so strong, strategic and consistent.
Don't be rude to your rickshaw driver
I know that there is a massive language barrier in India given how your average rickshaw driver is not going to speak much English, but several racers were quite rude with their rickshaw drivers, barking instructions at the driver. Look, she isn't deaf, you don't have to raise your voice - she simply doesn't speak English and thus shouting at her is simply going to piss her off rather than make her go faster. In such a situation, I suggest being polite and nice to your driver and trying to communicate through kind gestures like smiling or offering her water - at least that way, you're winning some goodwill and getting your driver on your side. After all, anyone who has been in the service industry will tell you that rude customers usually get far worse service than the polite customers. You do realize that the drivers really don't care if their passengers win or lose, it is not like the winning team (in this case Greg & John) are going to share their prize of a trip to New Zealand with their driver - they're not even going to send her a gift from New Zealand. This is why I always shake my head when I hear racers telling the drivers, "we are in a race to win a million dollars!" So what? Why should the driver care if you're not going to share that money with the driver? It is probably far more practical to say, "if you can get us to the pit stop before that team in front of us, I'll give you a huge tip, okay?" Quite simply, you need to give your driver a monetary incentive to care, they'd want that tip and that's when they'll try their best to help you win. I am also watching the current season of TAR Australia and there's a lot of bad behaviour there, this is reality TV for crying out aloud, you don't want to behave badly on camera like that as the viewers will judge you very harshly for it even if you want to claim that you were under a lot of stress. If you want to take part in reality TV, then you must be prepared to keep your cool under pressure if there is a film crew pointing a camera in your face and resist the urge to lose your temper - otherwise, you will look like a really nasty person in the programme and the TAR producers really don't care if that is the end result.
Which detour was easier: bricks or bundles?
I think bundles was easier - both tasks were physical, however in bricks the teams had to navigate their way through the crowded streets of Jaipur on their cycle rickshaw to make their delivery, however for bundles, the teams were driven on auto rickshaw to the two temples. Two teams had problems with the navigation in this task: Joel & Garrett who did bricks and Liam & Yeremi who did bundles - however, Joel & Garrett nearly collapsed from exhaustion trying to find the delivery location. Contrast that to Liam & Yeremi who were frustrated but were still just passengers in the auto rickshaw, at least they weren't suffering as much. There was really no real skill associated with either tasks, the tying up of the bundles was so straightforward and simple. This is why I was quite surprised that so many teams chose the harder side of the detour.
Was it fair that Steve & Anna Leigh were informed of their mistake?
This has been talked about a lot on social media - Steve & Anna Leigh were U-turned and thus had to do both sides of the detour, but when they arrived at the construction site to start their second half of the detour 'bricks', the foreman there informed them that they could not do so until they had completed their previous detour - he even told them, "read the clue". That is an intervention by the production team as the local foreman would have been instructed to give Steve & Anna Leigh that piece of information, but was it fair though? Should Steve & Anna Leigh have been left to their own devices at that stage? So this is what has been suggested by some of you on social media - Steve & Anna Leigh should have been just allowed to do the 'bricks' detour and upon completing it, they would be denied their next clue, leaving them confused and thinking that they had made a mistake during the delivery of the bricks, It could lead to them trying that same detour again with the same results - this could have lead to their elimination if they failed to realize exactly where they had gone wrong. I think that the intervention by production was not really necessary, they should have been left on their own to figure out where they had gone wrong as it is pretty obvious, at best, the intervention had saved them a few minutes. Nonetheless, I feel they should not have been given that extra bit of help - I doubt this would have led to their elimination but it would have only pushed them further down the rankings. Given just how far behind Liam & Yeremi were in this leg the worst case scenario for Steve & Anna Leigh would have been to finish 8th in this leg (instead of 7th).
The summer heat in India is insane.
Oh the summer weather in India is absolutely brutal for most of the year. As mentioned in my post last week, this was filmed in mid-June and temperatures in Jaipur regularly exceed 40 degrees Celsius (104 F) and hence all the teams would be suffering in this leg, but Joel & Garrett were hit the hardest when they were nearly pushed to breaking point during the detour. In that part of northern India, the climate is very unforgiving indeed: it starts to get hot in March and then you enter the hot and dry season which lasts till July, when it temperatures can get as high as 49 degrees Celsius (120 F). Then the monsoon rains come and it cools down a bit, but the monsoon rains can be relentless and very heavy (often leading to floods) for the next four months until the end of October. Finally, you have four months of winter which is characterized by a 'cool and dry' season, where temperatures are a lot more pleasant and it is quite dry. That is why most tourists prefer to visit Jaipur in those four winter months when the weather conditions are more ideal. So apart from the pleasant winter season, they must contend with either the extremely hot and dry season and the super wet rainy reason.
Namaste isn't thank you for crying out aloud!
So the teams have figured out one word in Hindi - 'namaste' which is a common greeting in India. Only one team Greg & John actually bothered to learn the word for thank you, which is 'dhanyavad'. Given that most people in India do speak a little bit of English, the words 'thank you' will be understood by practically everyone. I rolled my eyes when the racers kept saying 'namaste' instead of 'thank you' when they are trying to thank the other person, such as when receiving a clue or a receipt. If you don't know the word for thank you in Hindi, then just say it in but don't say the word for 'hello' instead as many of the viewers watching will be shaking their heads in judgment! Furthermore the local Indian person is simply going to roll their eyes and think, "there's another dumb American who only knows that one word in Hindi - what an idiot. Your pathetic little brain cannot memorize more than one word at a time." They are not going to be impressed I can assure you. You're better off being the arrogant American who hasn't bothered to learn the local language than the ignorant, naïve American who imagines that the locals are going to be impressed when you know that one word in Hindi.
More haste less speed at the block printing roadblock.
I really liked the roadblock in this leg - the block printing looked deceptively easy until you realize the amount of attention to detail required in order to do a perfectly good print. Some teams did better than others, it was a case of more haste, less speed as you needed to really take your time to watch the demonstration and follow every step carefully. Steve and Robbin both made crucial errors in this roadblock which dropped their teams down to 7th and 8th respectively in this leg.
Who will be eliminated next in Germany? Who will win the next leg?
Goodbye India, we are off to Cologne, Germany next and I'm really excited as I used to work there back in 2014. In the previews, we see Todd & Ashlie struggle with an unusual Velcro football darts task and we also see two teams really struggle with navigation (Morgan & Lena and Steve & Anna Leigh) as they drive through Germany. In the other preview, we see more arguing from Todd & Ashlie and Steve & Anna Leigh, we also see Greg & John as well as Rob & Corey celebrating. I know I said I have learnt my lesson that they are unlikely to give away any spoilers about the team that will be eliminated next, so I am going to default to the statistics instead. Thus I am just going to follow the statistics here. it will be either Rob & Corey or Greg & John who will win this leg - whilst I clearly like Rob & Corey more as a team, I am going to park my personal feelings aside and predict that Greg & John will win this next leg. As for the team to be eliminated, I am really struggling. Statistically, Andrea & Malaina and Robbin & Chelsea are the two weakest teams now but both teams had a terrible start in the first two legs - this would drag down their average rankings no matter how well they perform in the later legs. Thus if we were to look only at the four legs, the weakest team is in fact Morgan & Lena; I'm not sure if my methodology is going to work but I am going to predict that Morgan & Lena are going to be the next to be eliminated. Let me explain my logic: in TAR, some teams (like Andrea & Malaina) improve with each leg as they learn valuable lessons and become more determined to stay in the race; whilst other teams simply give in to fatigue, jet lag and tension as they simply fall apart and self-destruct under stress. It is on this basis that I am going to predict that Morgan & Lena would be the next team to be eliminated in Cologne. They are great when things are going well but they crumble under pressure too quickly the moment things do not go according to plan and that is when they start to quarrel.
I have booked my flights!
I am happy to confirm that I'll be off on holidays from the 17th to the 22nd of November. I will be flying to Chisinau in Moldova on the 17th and then flying back from Iasi in Romania on the 22nd. I am very excited as Moldova will be country 75 for me, that's after visiting country 74 earlier this year when I went to Serbia. I don't think that visiting every single country in the world is a realistic goal but I have picked the nice round number of 100 for myself and I have ran out of all the low hanging fruits, given that I have visited every single country in Europe except Belarus and Cyprus. I intend to do a winter holiday to central Asia next year and I am counting on work taking me to Africa next year as well, so I hope to inch ever closer to country 80, which is the next big milestone for me. I came from a very poor working class family and international travel simply wasn't a thing for families like that when I was a child so I have spent all of my adult life trying to make up for that; this is why programmes like TAR really appeal to me as they do introduce all of these truly amazing locations to the viewers. That's it from me on this episode - please leave a comment below and many thanks for reading.
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