Interview: Doug Lansky

Doug: Yes, and then some. That story cherry-picked a few bits and pieces from the book.

Nana: Please tell us what you're working on now.

Dusty Doug Lansky with Jeep.

Doug: Three books. Rough Guide to Travel Survival: The Essential Field Manual, Signspotting, absurd and funny signs from around the world (Lonely Planet), and I'm updating the Round the World book for Rough Guides. I'm maintaining Signspotting as a nationally syndicated newspaper feature and I'm editing and writing the travel section of Scanorama, the In-flight magazine of Scandinavian Airlines. I'm also doing a bit of freelancing for some newspapers and magazine, and I hope to do more of that once these books are off my plate.

Nana: Please tell us who you love reading.

Doug: I should probably just keep it to travel writing so I don't spend the entire day answering this question. I like Mark Salzman's book, Iron and Silk. He gets under the skin of the Chinese culture in a way that I probably never could (not without about 10 years of martial arts lessons and cello lessons and a few other things). I like Dave Barry Does Japan, Adam Gopnik's Paris to the Moon, and, in general, books that take a lighter approach and don't try to sell you on how lovely and romantic the experience was. I like some of Bryson's books, especially Neither Here Nor There and the first part of A Walk in the Woods. His humor is delightful and brilliant, but I have two basic problems with Bryson, which many readers may disagree with: 1) He often doesn't do much. This is also part of his charm, but sometimes it's too much for me. In  A Walk in the Woods, for example, he doesn't bother complete the Appalachian Trail, which is supposed to be what the book is about. I guess when you're already a bestselling author you can get away with that. 2) He writes about the moments when he doesn't do much. Many travel writers do this (feel they need to tell you about every breath they take just because they're out of their own country) but Bryson is the master. He can take a 15-minute walk along some path, sit on a park bench for 10 minutes to rest and think and get 20 pages out of the experience. I don't mean to pick on Bryson. I really shouldn't. He has, after all, lifted travel humor out of the trenches and placed it firmly on the bestseller lists.

Nana: Do you write as you're traveling or do you keep notes and then write once you've returned home?

Doug: I typically write on the road with a laptop. I take notes and photos, but often do minimal amounts of both, as they distance you from the people you're trying to get to know and tend to keep them from opening up. It depends on the situation, though. Often there's too much action (while kayaking, caving, etc.) to take any notes, in which case I run back to my laptop and try to scribble it all down as quickly as possible. Once I've spit out the bulk of the text, I put it to rest for a day or two then approach it with fresh eyes.

Nana: What have you learned over the years about travel writing that you think would have made life a bit easier in the beginning, be it the business itself, the choice of topics or the actual writing?

Doug: Not to take it personally when you're stuff gets lost or rejected. And you should have loads of different proposals going at once. There's a tendency at the beginning to pitch an idea and wait for ages to see if it gets accepted. Better to put it out there and follow up, but also have a lot of others going so you don't feel like you're helplessly waiting for someone to make a decision.

Doug Lansky reflecting on aviation.

Nana: Going back to Minnesota, where you grew up, what were your first experiences in traveling? What sort of ideas did you have towards traveling or travelers, for that matter, as a boy? What did you notice or become curious about on those early trips?

Doug: I didn't know anything about traveling, just going to Florida with my parents and a huge suitcase or two. Hotel, rental car, sand, surf, sunburn -- the works. We did go to Japan when I was young, but I don't remember much from it other than I hated having fish for breakfast. When my parents got divorced, they only moved about 3 km from each other so I went back and forth every week for about seven years and was essentially living out of a backpack that entire time. I suppose that got me somewhat accustomed to the itinerant lifestyle.

Nana: You have a young family now. Do you find yourself thinking differently about traveling now that you've got more responsibilities?

Doug: Yep. I don't want to take as many stupid risks. And when the kids are along I don't even want to take as many connecting flights. The easy stuff, like moving through an airport and packing, becomes difficult. And the stuff I thought was more difficult, like figuring what I wanted to do each day, sort of takes care of itself with kids. Kids also make it much easier to interact with the local population. Locals have no trouble initiating contact with your kids. Or maybe their kids make contact with your kids. Either way, you're meeting a lot more locals.

Nana: Ahem...I've heard, repeatedly, that adventurers cannot settle. They have to keep moving. That's their life. Clearly you are living otherwise. How are you managing to keep a balance between family life and traveling?

Doug: I'm traveling less these days and dreaming about it more. When the kids get out of diapers, it'll be easier for me to get back on the road more. It's just a period. I hope to travel with my kids independently, as well as just with my wife, and alone. With some luck, I'll manage.

Nana: Are you writing and lecturing more than you're backpacking now?

Doug: Yep.

Nana: What were your worries before you settled down?

Doug: Buying a toaster and lawnmower and finding a house that looks like every other house on the block. I didn't want life to be boring.

Nana: Why Stockholm?

Doug: The Swedish girlfriend became the Swedish wife and backpack became a storage shed and now we're pumping out kids like IKEA furniture. Number three is due in February 2006.

Nana: Just one more question, Doug. What would you say to Sienna one day if she announced she wanted to quit school to travel for a year?

Doug: Hopefully, she'll be older than 15 when she does this. I'm guessing she will and I think it's a great idea.

Nana: Thank you very much, Doug. I wish you the best of luck with your upcoming projects. If you ever find yourself passing by Taipei, let me know. I'll take you out to a risky stinky tofu dinner.

Don’t forget to reserve your copy of Doug Lansky’s upcoming “Rough Guide to Travel Survival: The Essential Field Manual,” already a bestseller in the UK. Keep up with Doug and his adventures by visiting www.douglansky.com.