Day one of of my India experience is drawing to a close. For the most part, it was a rest day, given the length of the journey here. The trip here involved 3 flights, almost 26 hours of traveling, and a journey across 9 1/2 timezones. (Yes, 9 1/2. India is 9 hours and 30 minutes ahead of Vermont, but I haven't learned why yet.) Oh, and after the three flights, the last leg of the journey was made on this bus...
After a morning of rest, a few of us ventured out for a short walk. Below are a few pictures of Bengaluru, city of 8 million.
Another interesting bit that appealed to my interest in geography was a map of India that was shown to us (I've included it below to the right.) It is a map made in India which shows India as including areas currently controlled by both Pakistan and China. India has border disputes with both countries and each of the three countries claims control of some of the others' land. In the northwest corner, India claims all of Kashmir and Jammu, though parts are under Pakistani and Chinese control and, in the northeast region, India claims that part of China actually belongs to the Indian state of Aranachal Pradesh. The situation is, of course, much more complicated than this, but nonetheless, it is interesting and thought-provoking to see the Indian perspective on these disputed areas visually portrayed on the map. (For contrast, I've included a map that highlights these disputed areas. You may need to click on the maps to see them in their entirety.)