Japalouppe - Kamshet

I am now staying at the base used by Temple Pilots, an equestrian ranch called Japalouppe. Based in Kamshet near Pune (pronounced Poonah), Temple Pilots is the most successful and well respected paragliding schools in the region. Run by Avi, ex-RAF pilot, and his wife Anita, the school has a good throughput of P1 and P2 pupils and a growing number of Club Pilots who fly under the protective wing of the Club and its very experienced instructors.

Japalouppe is used by the school as a base for briefings, food and lodgings, and consists of a couple of bunkhouses, and a lodge. Here at the ranch kids from well-off Indian families can come and horse ride, scream, shout, run-about and cause general mayhem. There are stables, countless dogs, four Labrador puppies, a very vocal cat and some very cute two-day old kittens.

Also dotted around the place are a dozen geese, three tiny little bright yellow fluffy goslings, some goats, fish in two large fish tanks, a visiting Kite who calls here for his breakfast every morning, flocks of big black crows and about a zillion flies and mosquitoes.

Facilities are very basic when compared to the UK and it is something you have to get used to in India generally. The dorms have bunk beds and noisy ceiling fans, and mosquitoes are a problem, having said that I do sleep well and the atmosphere is always fun in the bunkhouse. The showers are camp-site style, usually cold (which I prefer personally in the heat) .. shaving isn’t much fun, not had a hot water shave since I arrived, but hey.. in a warm country its always lots easier to shave anyhow. All-in-all a welcoming place to stay if you love animals and don't mind a busy environment.. Incidentally the owner Lorraine and her son Rohan and staff are great people and will make your stay a lot of fun.

Flying

Paragliding is very much in its infancy here and is within the reach of only a lucky few. The new students I have met are mostly young and successful; every one is a graduate and successful in the corporate world, others are older business people. Interestingly there is a good mix of the sexes, with young women from the media, design, and banking industries.

I have been going out every morning with the paragliding students and practising ground handling in the mornings, then we all get back for lunch and a siesta as the day gets hotter. The heat is pretty oppressive, I’m drinking several litres of water per day without much need to visit the smallest room, so to speak, and theoretically this means I need to drink more, which would almost mean an intravenous drip by my reckoning. Also I have to remember to take salt, this makes a change from trying to keep a low salt diet.. bring on the snacks! The weather is fairly predictable, as of course it never rains until the rainy season in May/June, and the wind direction is also seasonal. The strength and direction may be off a little, but usually the instructors get it right.. so much easier than the UK.

Generally flying has been good though I do not have anywhere near as much airtime by now as I'd hoped. My total so far is around three hours, which for almost a month is hopeless. On the positive side I've seen and done loads and made tons of new friends. I'm familiar with some tremendous new flying sites and pretty much set-up to visit them when I want. Soon I'll be moving to a new location and should be able to hook-up with other pilots and fly every day.

OK that’s all for now. Off to find a cool beer..