From Paduga in Philippines:
     I saw you in Malate, Manila. You and your backpack. Hehe. I wasnt sure. then i saw your blog. You look younger in the picture.
     This isn’t starting well.

From Irum in location unknown:
     26th of may 2014 i need residence
     Uhhh…OK…and?

From Marisol in Netherlands:
     Hola Kent,
     I’m Peruviaan living in The Netherlands. I like your site. Thanks. Just something i couldn’t find here an would be really great for travelers. Do you have a list of website’s (links) refering holidays “pirates” tickets? It means a site that informs when an error price ticket appears or an extremely sale ticket. There are a few in Europe.
     Somebody posted on Couchsurfing this list:
http://www.holidaypirates.com
http://www.viajeropedia.com
http://www.piratinvolo.com
http://www.urlaubspiraten.de
http://www.travelpirates.com
http://www.the-exbir.com
http://vakantiepiraten.nl/
http://www.mydealz.de/category/reisen/
http://www.loter.pl/
     It will be nice if somebody can consolidate a day offers of all the pirate sites, so I only would need to enter to one site everyday…
     (By the way, only the first is in English. Use Google Translate for the others.) That does sound like a good idea. These websites do have interesting stuff if you can quickly take advantage of them, and even if the website isn’t in English, sometimes the error fare website is.
     You know another website someone needs to start? www.whichsideoftheplane.com! Travelers need to know which window seat to get for the best views for takeoff and landing! Kathmandu is right side for arriving, Los Angeles is right side both arriving and departing, Istanbul is right side for landing depending on the approach, etc. See? We need to know this stuff! Someone get on it, another FREE business idea from The Dromomaniac!

From Redwaan in Kenya:
     Hi kent. how u doin. am writing to once again but this time i need ur help. in a months time al be travelling to bahamas . you are the most suitable person who can assist me with the information about the cheapest package because my funds is limited and i don want to be overcharged by the travelling agencies. am in nairobi, kenya and and bahamas is visa free for a kenyan passport holder. plz i wanna see this piece of jewel called bahamas so check for me the cheapest hotels and airline. i feel that one day we gonna bump into each other somewhere in this world. thanks you so much.
     Redwaan had written to me before asking about how to get into USA, and this time I razzed him for his backdoor attempt at getting in via Bahamas, but then he wrote back:
     hi. not really but i got some piracy money to spend and i thought this paradise island will be the perfect hideout. by the way i wanna invite you to come over. cheers
     Look, it’s none of my business how he gets his money! I don’t want to be nosy. It’s rude.

From Ashkan in Iran:
Subject: “Life is too short to be shy”
     Hi Kent, I found your website on Couchsurfing. I appreciate your tremendous effort on sharing unique information to us. Unfortunately your tips and tricks do not work for me because I am from Iran. You know, the world zoned country, where boycott is going meaningful there, where you can be a billionaire in a night or versus it.. You can taste the real poverty everyday!..I’d like to travel to know if there’s any place like my country but you may know poverty has been increased these years and along that, there are too many problems such as Visa, Face detection/Finger print on visa processing, lowest currency, global politics and even social warnings
     HUH! You know I am a Terrorist ! Gosh, what a close similarity …I scrimmage with this appointment at any time, particularly abroad. But who bombed Hiroshima, who asked about Nagasaki…Don’t mind, people are used to follow Fox News and BBC…Forget about it. I am getting older and I am losing the best years of my whole life. Voluntary work, traveling abroad, communicate to other cultures and making friends are really more difficult than being a billionaire! I just want to know how I can get out of this marsh, when do my dreams come true? I am a convincing person, I do not want nothing more. A small dream which it’s possible for everyone in Europe or America.
     Every time I am feeling down about traveling so much for so long—and you show me the person who has done it more than me. Go ahead, I can wait—I have to remember all those people in this world who would kill to experience my privilege. My eloquent answer to Ashkan’s predicament is that it sucks, plus the irony here is Ashkan can’t leave Iran to go where he wants and Iran is the last country I want to visit, but can’t (independently.)

From Tanya in location unknown:
     Kent, I realized I must leave a comment since I have been in a blissful trance reading practically every page, no scratch that, nearly every word on your site for the last 4+ hours. It is now dark for goodness sake…where did my day go?!
     Anyhoo, I am a soon-to-be-female-solo-traveler embarking on a multi-year around the world trip. Although I’ve traveled solo before, it’s great to be reminded about how doable it really is even when I have people telling me I’m crazy. I leave in May for Cancun to swim with the whale sharks and then off to Brazil for the glorious month-long World Cup. No, I’m not riding a whale shark to Brazil, but I will be the one chanting U-S-A or Viva Espana, depending on which game I am at! Then…to wherever I desire at that moment and for however long.
     Thank you, I have learned so much and wanted to send a bit of gratitude for “TheDromomaniac.com PhD” you have bestowed upon me. I almost feel like you have knighted me in my very own living room, “I dub thee Solo Traveler Knight…arise…go forth…Travel!!” You have provided oodles of traveling tips (I had NO IDEA about the fake onward ticket thingy) and thank goodness I was near a bathroom because I nearly peed my pants after laughing so hard from reading your “Another 100 Word Story.” I will enjoy reading more as you write about your adventures. Thanks again and perhaps we will cross paths in this small world of ours.
     I show this email just to demonstrate that some people like me in this cruel and harsh world—even if I reply to them and they never write back, which happens all the time.

WORLDCUPWORLDCUPWORLDCUPWORLDCUPWORLDCUPWORLDCUP!!!

From Sepp Blatter in Zurich, Switzerland:
     Dromo, O Wise One, O Knower of Truths, O Great Seer, I prithee, giveth me some insight into the World Cup while I count my money.
     Thank you, Sepp, I do have some thoughts (and if you hate soccer, you should stop reading now. No hard feelings, I promise):
     —Last World Cup I predicted Netherlands would win the World Cup, and I wasn’t far off. This time I expect big things from their neighbor—and I ain’t talkin’ ’bout Germany. The match of the tournament will be Belgium vs. Argentina in the quarter-finals. Belgium is the team to watch, but they are stuck playing either Argentina or Germany to get out of the bracket.
     —Ivory Coast is finally not in a Group of Death unlike the last two cups. They should be the first African team to make some serious noise. Let’s not forget that many of these matches are being played in intense tropical heat and humidity that Europeans aren’t used to. I don’t know why so many teams have waited so long to go down to Brazil to get acclimated. They will wilt after a few games.
     —I have no idea how USA will do. They can lose all three matches and it wouldn’t surprise me. Neither would quarterfinals. The best quality I expect from having Klinsmann as coach is that we won’t play scared, especially the defense, which drives me crazy.
     —Tonight’s prediction: Brazil 1, Croatia 1, setting off a series of events: the Brazilian nation descends into panic, unnerving the team, then they’ll lose to sneaky Mexico (I hate Mexico. Ever since I saw USA tie Mexico at Azteca Stadium with 100,000 others and being hit in the shoulder with ice thrown from the upper deck, I can’t forgive them) followed by prices for acai berries falling to all-time lows and thus, my emigration to Brazil, which has always been my secret plan.
     —I don’t feel strongly about this, but I think this is Argentina’s year. I don’t trust Brazil’s defense nor their mettle. Spain might be the San Antonio Spurs of the World Cup where we conveniently overlook them for flashier teams while they play the best all-around game.
     —I think I just changed my mind. It’s Spain’s year and decade.
     What are my soccer bona fides to even have an opinion? How would an American(!) possess any chutzpah, any moxie, to offer predictions? I like soccer, what can I say? I witnessed the Olympic Final (France vs. Brazil) in Los Angeles, Brazil vs. Russia in Moscow, Peru vs. Colombia in Bogota, saw matches at the Bonbonera in Buenos Aires, Maracana in Rio, Bundesliga, La Liga, Hungarian, Turkish, Bulgarian, Danish, Syrian, etc. league matches, World Cup in USA, European Cup in England, a tournament in Rotterdam, UEFA Cup match in Yugoslavia, even Vietnam vs. Thailand in Bangkok, and in Oslo I had Norwegian Cup Final tickets that I sold to try and survive there, which I couldn’t, providing a valuable life lesson that soccer is more important than surviving.
     Coming tomorrow or Saturday, the first ever guest post on my blog from a yet-to-be-renowned soccer scholar about the World Cup with some rigorous in-your-face analysis. It might cause a few fights.

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