About Me

Welcome to TheDromomaniac.com!
     Hi everyone! I’m Kent Foster, a native Californian, and this website will show the science and philosophy of traveling one way all over the world with a minimal amount of money and why it’s worthwhile to do so.
     Who am I? What makes me qualified to talk about this? Who died and made me the Grandmaster of Cheap Travel? I don’t intend to sound like a know-it-all blowhard, like a psychic who’s never won the lottery. I’m not so boastful; I simply speak from experience. I have done this all my life and now I am unveiling all my tricks to show in detail how I do it. I’ve been to over 100 countries, I spend more time out of America than in it, I’ve never been in one place for longer than eight months AND I’ve been in prison in Ecuador with a teenage girl from Wyoming.   (Dramatic pause)   Well, OK, I was just visiting her, so my street cred isn’t 100%, but still!
          Wait, I’m not done puffing out my chest:   I’ve hitchhiked over 100,000 km, I can get by in nine languages on a good day, I usually sleep in 100 different beds a year (and not in a swinging ’70s way–now THAT would be a website!), I have mastered finding the cheapest flight and I’ve also been in prison in Nepal, Egypt, Thailand (twice) and Indonesia, again as a visitor–as far as you know…

Why my website?
          I am telling you what I know with all my information gathered in one place that I don’t see anywhere else–and not charging you for it in an e-book, which I suddenly regret.   There is no “correct” way to travel and anyone who has ever been on a longish trip is an expert.   The photo here is of my 96 travel journal books over the years, a lifetime of solid data, useful anecdotes, evocative narratives and intensively rigorous scientific analysis that I am now sharing with you.   (Actually, they’re all filled with stick figure doodlings, but that’s just between you and me.)
          My website is for people thinking about traveling as well as those who have been around the block. (I can hear them now, screeching, “I know how to freaking pack my own bag!” to which I reply, “If you are so experienced, why are you weighed down like a peasant at harvest?!”)   I still see plenty of knowledgeable travelers paying too much for flights, being close-minded about frequent flier miles and disdainful of hitchhiking or even rideshares–and then complaining about not having enough money to travel.
          Though a common theme throughout this site is to show my fellow Americans that it is easier, cheaper and more worthwhile to travel than they may have thought, I don’t intend this to be so American-centric.   Just about anywhere I go in the world I come across people who would love to do as I do, but are hampered by money, family responsibilities, debilitating jobs, difficulty in getting visas or various other freedoms, and yet so many people who are able to go for it don’t take advantage of what their passport provides, especially Americans.

The Dromomaniac = Superfreak
          My way of travel isn’t for everyone.   Most people don’t have the stomach for hitchhiking, using quasi-illegal fake onward air tickets, and making things up on the fly.   This is just the way I do it. I travel in an open-ended, rambling, low-to-the-ground, inexpensive way without much planning.   I don’t plan in the sense of making reservations and making a schedule, but I plan by researching my options beforehand to make more informed decisions later.
          While a lot of my suggestions are based on my way of running around, my goal is for you to find enough practical information and inspiration to apply toward your own journey.   That is the point:   pick and choose things from my website and others and form it into what works best for you, and as your way of traveling evolves, you might find that a completely ridiculous idea of mine isn’t so retarded after all.
          Hopefully it is all easily laid out for you in mind-numbing detail:   nuts and bolts planning details, how to get around cheaply, stories and photos of past trips and a blog for stalking–I mean, following–me.   Regarding the original question:   Who am I, meaning, what do I look like?   Pix are here on the  Page o’ Narcissism!
          Please send me an email for any reason at all.
          Thanks for your time!
                    -Kent
P.S. Stay with me:


Comments

About Me — 36 Comments

  1. I think that that i will use your experience for sure.ž
    Hvala!

  2. You got yourself a reader! I am only a modest beginner in the very field of globtroterring, so i will definitely use some tips of yours.
    Salute!

  3. hey man , i realy feel jealous of you, since of traveling to so many countries and meeting so many different peopol and cultuers .
    with my best whishes for you .

    ali baba from iran

  4. you have a new reader from now 🙂 it is great you made this website, full of good advices! and hopefully i can see also a lot of the world, that my dream became more closer.

    greetings Susan (from Holland)

  5. Hi Kent

    yeah I stumbled across your website from somewhere its thoroughly entertaining, very readable. I wish all travel agents were so candid about all the nitty gritty involved in budget travel cheers

  6. Hello Kent!

    Last year I lived in the Netherlands for 3 maonth and I really enjoyed travelling all over Europe qith a small budget. But now, I’m back in Tucumán (Argentina) and going anywhere seems too expensive. I would like to go to Peru, Mexico, ecuador and why not Europe again.
    Any suggestion?
    Thanks! Great work by the way!!
    María Luz

  7. Kent,

    I found your blog through a post at the lonely planet forum at 3:03 p.m. It is now 6:31 and I have only left it twice, once to go to your old website and once to get up and make a dinner of boxed curry and minute rice. How’s that for increasing your Google analytics average of 6 minutes per visitor?

    I want to say thank you for all the awesome advice you give and the great manner it is presented. Sure, the posts are long, but the writing style keeps it enjoyable and the content is so chockful of great tidbits that its worth reading each bit. Full disclosure: I am also putting off packing for my trip to Thailand and Malaysia that leaves in 24 hours, so that might have something to do with it!

    Any idea if the restaurant you mention on your old website in Penang is still operating? I’ll be heading to Penang and I’ll be sure to look for it.

    Just wanted to let you know that the site is awesome and I’ll be following it vigilantly. I also have recently taken to creating my own website since I’ve moved to Japan. If you get time, check it out, and if you like it, feel free to add it to your links page.

    Look forward to hearing more about your adventures and tips.

    Travis Sherry

    http://www.sherrybento.wordpress.com

  8. hi kent! love your blog, it’s fantastically written with loads of humour. . . really great!
    you’ve got yourself another reader
    greetz and keep the faith!

  9. I am so jealous…i would like for you to re-travel to Scotland and England and Germany so you can tell me what its currently like…thats where I plan to go soon – backpacking it alone!

    Come by and say Hi if you ever are close to Houston/Galveston, Texas! You can couchsurf here at my place.

  10. i like your honesty about travelling have done lots of travel myself,next time you are anywhere near nakuru pop in at our place pundamilias camp,will offer you a free bed,and promise there will be no indians
    safari njema
    karoma

  11. hey kent
    you probably won’t remember me because i was i baby when we first meet
    even i can’t remember you!:D
    well i just wanted to say hi and also a ‘hi’ from my dad, wolfgang lausmann, does that ring a bell?:D

  12. Hello Kent,
    I loved the toilet sequence of pictures and it reminded me of one posted by a friend who was visiting rural Africa. His picture was very clean but an unusual hole in the ground for useage. I will try to follow your bloging and take some advantage of your travel tips. I will be going to Europe this summer, but expect in Germany and Austria I will find pretty good toilets and lodging. Jim

  13. Hi Kent,

    I’m from Indonesia.
    My friend sent a link to your blog yesterday … and I’m falling in love (unfortunately) not with you … but with your blog hehehe …. and somebody already asked to marry you 😀
    That was a quite story you had during your stay in Indonesia.

    I wish I bump to you there, and I would show you a great culinary in Bandung, West Java, nasi timbel with sambal 😀

    Cheers,
    LA

  14. Wait, we can’t get married? In Indonesia I am allowed four wives or something?
    Thanks, my blog and I will accept any love! Nasi timbel? I looked it up but I can’t figure out what it is.

  15. Hey Kent,
    I think your webdesign sucks, but your content is great. So you went past the main problems most (aspiring) travel writers face. .
    1. Writing,
    2. Great content
    I feel you’re doing a great job on your niche and it doesn’t make me regret my choice of publishing in French. We are speaking to two different cultures, not just in two different language, and obviously you have a great outreach here 😉
    I guess some day we’ll have to get a cuppa in Central Asia, but in the meanwhile, I wish the best for you !

  16. You will be in Zh this weekend, and unfortunately I will be away for ski holiday, If you are back or longer here please let me know, I would like to meet a buddy like you 🙂

  17. hello, i love what you write about indonesia.
    I would gladly become your hostfamily when you’re going back to Indonesia 🙂

  18. Kent,
    I stumbled upon your site while googling some things about couchsurfing (I’m just now getting more “into” that whole aspect of travel), and boy was I pleasantly surprised! Your writing is great- funny, to the point, very candid- and I enjoy how vast your experiences seem to be. I’m a fan!
    Sincerely,
    A fellow world traveler

  19. Hi Kent!

    It’s been years since anyone posted here, so I thought that would do it.

    Love the website and will continue to read about your adventures!

    I am now in London, and if you need a place to crash you know how to find me!

    Vi ses!

  20. Brother, I don’t just let anyone post here, you know! Nice to hear from you! It’s been a long time. I would love to see you in London, thanks for the offer. Do you like it there? I will be in Sonderjylland in late June, too. Mojn!

  21. Hi Kent,
    Inspired by your adventures!
    I love traveling and exploring myself, going through your blog and other writings
    have inspired me to celebrate every second of my future travels from now onwards. Your tips are like life long learning. Best wishes, Jay

  22. Hi Kent,
    Read your piece about Sri Ananda Bhavan restaurant – not sure how old the piece is but so true. I speak with some authority since I was born in Penang but have lived overseas in the U.K. and the U.S. for over 35 years. Took my daughter to Penang last year and she could not believe how good the food was. The chicken tandoori and roti canai at Sri Ananda Bhavan is out of this world. Going to Singapore in Feb 2016 and will also be making a “food trip” to Penang. Can’t wait!
    Cheers,
    Surinder

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