Amazing Race

Lost Things: Cheryl & Brandon, the Jims, and Kate & Karen. C&B's bags did not make the connecting flight into Delhi, so they showed up in Delhi on Saturday morning without extra clothes. They get a point because the airline gave them cash to buy a few days worth of clothes, and on that Saturday morning they found the best clothes shop of any of us, and it was just a two minute walk from the hotel. Their bags showed were delivered to the hotel the next day. Karen left a hat on the Chandigahr bus. Its a keepsake hat, so Sanjay called the Chandigahr bus and asked if they had found the hat. They had, and will be shipping it to Mumbai to meet us there. Kate stepped on elevators twice in Delhi without knowing which floor to exit on, and had to call to get directions. Jim Kautz lost his camera before he even got to Delhi, in the security check in Seoul on the way to India. Jim Miller left his camera on a table in the lobby of the Trident hotel, but hotel security (very tight here) picked it up and had it in lost and found for him when he came looking for it an hour later.

Shenanigans: Bud, Cheryl, and Alex, Hing and Alice. Coming up the stairs from an underground bazaar, Bud got swarmed by a flock of gypsies, and within seconds they had their hands in his bag before he even noticed. Only one point for Bud, who apparently has been pickpocketed on every continent he has visited, and because the theft was not consumated. Also one point for Cheryl, who quickly shouted 'watch out! watch out!' and shooed the gypsies away to prevent the theft. Alex bought some batteries at a vendor at Fatepuhr Sikri even though we had been specifically warned that they might sell empties. He tested his new purchase and thought at first that he had been sold empties, but then realized he had just put them in backwards - One point for succeeding with the street vendors. Hing and Alice asked the hotel to arrange for massages, and they got amateurs, barbers, and twins. They got a partial refund.

Delhi Belly: Rob and Barbara. These are the only people that have managed to avoid colds and stomach aches. Several people have taken Cipro.

Assertiveness: Cheryl. She held back a flock of Flemish tourists while the laggards of our group got on to a crowded bus. She several times acted as a relay point when the group was getting spread out while walking from one place to another. She would follow up on the details of a day's schedule with Sanjay, making sure all the options were correctly understood. She also would warn everyone of potential pickpockets.

Gone Native: Alice & Julie. They bought Punjabi suits and have worn them more than once. Alice buys more trinkets than anyone else, and is approached by the locals a lot.

Engagement: Alice & Julie, Rachna, Lee, and Jim. Everybody wants to talk to Jim and get a picture with him, even French people. Same with Alice. Lee had a guy in stitches on the train back from Chandigarh. At the movie theatre, a couple put their baby in Jim's arms for a photo. Alice, Julie, and Rachna crashed a wedding.

Best Travel Arrangements: Kathleen, Lee, Bud & Elaine. Kathleen's travel time was 19 hours, and she had an entertaining seat partner and a view of the Himalayas on her way to Delhi. Lee has an around-the-world ticket. Bud & Elaine will spend a week in Dubai on the way home, making their trip the longest of anyone in the group.

Roadwork: Steve, Bud & Elaine, Alice & Julie, Rob: Steve, Bud and Elaine were in a rickshaw that had a fender bender with a car. Alice & Julie have ridden on the backs of scooters driven by locals (Julie's driver got into a scooter wreck the next day). Rob rented a motor scooter and took a tour of the countryside around Udaipur. Our bus almost got towed for parking in the wrong place in Ahmedabad, but since all of us would have been affected, no special points to anyone.