Visit by Grandad Nick

It was great to see my Dad and Debbie this weekend  - not least because it got me out of the 10-day Air-Land exercise for a few days!  Thanks to Debbie's friend Viv we were given a personal tour of the Parkside Tea Estate near Coonoor.  Tom, in particular, enjoyed the visit because of his insatiable desire to understand how things work.  Here are a few pictures from the trip:

Group picture with the Estate Manager

Tom among the tea plants

Tom with the finished product - enough tea to last me a lifetime - destined for Japan

Kinderland

Hazel is working 3 days a week at a local Montessori School in Upper Coonoor.  Here she is with her class.

Kotagari to Wellington

Chris overlooking the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington

Today was a holiday from College and so Hazel and I took the opportunity to cycle the road between Kotagari and Wellington - a steep uphills, but also some great swooping downhills.

Forward Area Tour

 Probably the highlight of the course is the Forward Area Tour, which is an opportunity for Indian Air Force and Navy officers as well as International Students to visit the contested areas along the Indian borders in order to see how the Indian Army operates.  I asked to visit Kashmir and Ladakh, as much for the mountains as for the professional interest.  The following provides a brief snapshot of the 10-day visit.



Initially, seven of the international officers were sent to Kasmir to shake hands with the Corps Commander and visit Uri and the border with Pakistan.
 Here we are the Pakistan border - to think that 6 months ago I was at the Kyber Pass on the Afghan-Pak border.  I probably feature in my own target pack now!

On to Jammu to catch up with the rest of our party before flying to Leh

Arriving in Leh with a traditional welcome

 Somewhere in the desert around Leh!

Indian officers unused to the cold sporting the latest cold weather gear (a 10-man cold weather jacket per person!)

 Classic views of Buddhist monasteries

  Sucking thin air in the Ladakh Himalaya - I enjoyed the patronising tone of the Indian Army DS who kept trying to tell me about the dangers of high altitude.

Family Portrait