Linda Bendt – Public Relations

The places I’ve visited:

Mexico, Canada, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Hawaii, St. Johns, Costa Rica, New Zealand, Australia, China, Thailand, Eqypt, Turkey, Italy, Netherlands, Iceland

The year I started in the business:

1992

The year I joined Travel Beyond:

2008

My favorite travel destinations:

New Zealand – I absolutely love the South Island of New Zealand. Such diverse landscape (ocean, mountains, volcanoes, prairies) and wonderful activities (I did an extreme helicopter ride – yes they exist!)

Hawaii – Each island in Hawaii is so unique in its own right. It’s hard not to fall in love with the beautiful colors of the ocean, the sheer cliffs of some of the coast lines and the true ‘aloha spirit’ of the people (maybe that’s what attracted me to move and live there for three years!).

My most memorable moment:

Mountain biking on Molokai, Hawaii. After a grueling mountain biking adventure through forests and up mountains, we reached the top only to find a rainbow out over the ocean (we were higher than it!).

My most embarrassing moment:

Trying to explain to a cab driver in Beijing that my destination had changed from what our hotel concierge had first described to him. I knew that “boo” meant “no” so I kept pointing to the note saying “boo, boo, boo.” I felt like a cross between a really bad charades player and a ghost at Halloween. I must have been a sight!

My favorite meal while traveling:

Dinner – I love the exploration of finding a local place to eat. The food and spirits are such a fun, important part of traveling and experience the local culture.