Series 5 Episode 5 recap

The 5th leg of the race took our teams across India to the mountainous Mcleod Ganj, the home of the government-in-exile of Tibet. 

Both the route and the racers suffered some ups and downs along the way, with teams now reaching over a month on the road, although compared to past series, they all seem to be getting along very well.

Last week's winners Brian & Melvyn were first to leave, although they didn’t seem to embody speed. They quickly decided to go for the city route, getting a sleeper bus to Delhi, then on to Rishikesh for a spot of yoga, a slow and meditative moment that left Melvyn looking uncharacteristically glum.

His lack of usual laughs however was a sweet display of trying to enjoy (or at least tolerate) Brian’s choice of activity, after he did the zipline last week.

They both hit a more reflective tone talking more about their upbring, with Brian talking about his wife helping him break the cycle of bad parents with his own children, while Melvyn admitted he had been too afraid to have a family, while being so proud of Brian’s.

For brothers who spend so much time laughing together, it’s eye opening to hear some of their history, and the journey has seemed to help them open up more to the more serious side of their relationship.

Having equally grown considerably in the last few weeks, are Caroline & Tom, who seem to have gained a better understanding of each other, as well as themselves.

They also took a route towards Delhi, although stopping to work and volunteer along the way. The week seemed to be Caroline’s moment with the stop at a incense place in Kanpur showing how other women worked, while the elephant sanctuary in Mathura appeared to bring out her excited inner child / latentent farmer's daughter.

Having worked along their leg, they seemed to enter and leave Delhi almost instantly, having mastered the art of the busy Indian cities. In complete contrast however were Finn & Sioned who not only fell at every hurdle, but hitting all of them on the way down too.

They wanted to avoid Delhi, so they traveled to the ironically named Lucknow. 

But luck was never on their side, with their first tuk tuk driver stopping to get tobacco, missing their bus, and the drivers in Lucknow either didn’t understand where they wanted to go, or misunderstood entirely and tried to take them to the airport.

The city noise and noticeable poverty of the homeless children were really affecting Sioned, but it was lovely to see Finn taking charge this week. 

In the early legs Sioned would complain he was leaving it all to her, but here he really took the lead trying to keep them going.

As they hit the more calm Dehradun and saw the green trees and the monkeys, they both picked up a bit, but their faces fell again as they found out how far away Mcleod Ganj still was.

Leticia and Elizabeth also took a Delhi route, aiming straight for the Taj Mahal which they both wanted to see.

Again they spent a lot of their time talking about how they don’t talk, but they seemed to work well together at the hostel and had a good time at the Taj Mahal.

They were the only team to brave one of India's busy trains, which made a UK ‘packed’ commuter service look positively empty. I think Sioned might have quit the show then and there faced with that train, and even the sisters decided it wasn’t worth trying to squeeze on, taking the option for a seated carriage upgrade instead.

While the sisters seem to have lost some of their early drive, I think they’re often one of the most capable teams, doing very well to navigate each country without much fuss.

They did struggle the most however as the teams entered Mcleod Ganj, failing to spot the mosaic of the Dali Lama, putting them in a close(?) third place.

Brian & Melvyn took second, with a heartwarming amount of praise for Caroline & Tom who positively romped to victory, having worked their way up the leaderboard the last few weeks.

1st	Caroline & Tom	-
2nd	Brian & Melvyn	+5h 10m
3rd	Elizabeth & Letitia
4th	Fin & Sioned

That only leaves Finn & Sioned not yet checked in - although as they were getting the bus tickets they found that Brian & Melvyn had done so two days before, so we know they’re going to be over 24 hours behind!

Large gaps can be caught up in this show, but with less money and a dislike of the city environments I’m not sure how easy it will be for the Welsh teens. But maybe you're more confident? Get your prediction in here before the next episode airs!