World traveler, adventurer and award-winning author Doug Lansky shared his traveling expertise with NIU students and staff and gave advice on how to be a “true adventurer” Tuesday night.

Lansky spoke in the Holmes Student Center’s Carl Sandburg Auditorium as part of the Campus Activities Board’s final speakers series.

“Concentrate more on what you’re doing out there and less on what you’re seeing,” Lansky said. “You will probably remember that week you spent crossing the desert on a camel before you remember standing around for an hour trying to get a picture of a monument.”

Lansky’s presentation included photos and lessons from his many trips all over the world. He has written seven best-selling travel books, including “First Time Around the World” and the award-winning “There’s No Toilet Paper on the Road Less Traveled.”

Some students found world travel to be a more feasible idea for them after seeing the presentation.

“It was a great presentation – it was helpful,” sophomore business major Komal Shah said. “This made me think of backpacking around Europe someday. It might be fun.”

There also was an emphasis on being a “true adventurer” instead of just a tourist. Lansky dispelled a few traveling myths and also shared his advice on how to get around the world on a budget.

It’s not dangerous to travel, and you don’t need to know the local language, Lansky said.

“I like the way he talked about immersing yourself in the culture and trying new things instead of just being a tourist,” said Max Bushmakin, a first-year graduate student

Lanksy’s travel columns run in more than 40 major newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune and the Seattle Times, and reach more than 10-million readers in the United States.For more information on Lansky, visit his Web site at www.douglansky.com.