Our pal Al Saracevic has a very interesting feature on the San Francisco Chronicle blog about his tour of India to see how it’s coping with its new economy. Apparently commuting is quite the bitch, both for locals navigating the horrific traffic and woeful railroads, and for Americans checking up on their outsourced biz.

Regarding the former, Saracevic writes:

“[The Indian Railway] is also the bane of many an Indian’s existence. People regularly wait in line two to three hours to get tickets at major urban train stations. And if the ticket you want isn’t available, you have to start over.”

Mercifully, a tech company is starting to sell train tickets online, though a small minority have internet access.

About traffic, he writes:

Street lanes are merely suggestions in the crowded cities of India. Traffic laws are rumors dismissed.  

About the trek Silicon Valley tech workers frequently make to India, he writes:

“It took me two cabs, three planes, two bus rides, four naps, a well-timed Bloody Mary and a tram ride” to get to Chennai.

Show me a Saracevic story without a strong Bloody Mary, and I’ll pay for your next drink.

The whole story is here.