Viajera Profile: Caroline Lontoc-Diaz

One look at her Facebook account and you’ll wonder if Caroline Lontoc-Diaz found some sort of wizarding gadget that allows her to have more hours in a day than the rest of us.  She’s a Preschool Director during the week,  takes whimsically beautiful family portraits and teaches Children’s Yoga on the weekends.  In between, she creates imaginative bento lunches for her kids that are too cute to eat and chronicles their family’s gastronomic adventures.  To top it off, she and her husband Vincent recently launched an innovative health product GoCoPod, a handy packet of virgin coconut oil.

This Energizer bunny of lady and former Miss Manila is an expert at juggling things while savoring the moment.  She’s traveled widely and has led tour groups for her family’s travel agency Jeron Travel.   The daughter of a Filipino pilot and a Taiwanese businesswoman, Caroline now lives in Atlanta with her husband and two boys,  where she continues to find ways to squeeze travel into her busy life.

Name: Caroline Lontoc Diaz                     Age:           35

Marital/Family Status: Married, with 2 kids

Profession: Preschool Director, Photographer and Children’s Yoga teacher

Cities you’ve lived in: Manila and Atlanta,  Short lived places I stayed at for a little over a month: Hawaii, Taiwan, and London.

City where you currently live: Atlanta

Your last trip was to: Out of the country – Hongkong and Inland it would be Hilton Head.

Your next trip is to: Paris and Rome

1. What is your earliest travel memory? Been traveling since I was a baby. Earliest would be a trip to Taiwan to visit my mom’s family and me on a motorcycle with my uncle driving around the city at age 6 or 7 maybe.
2. What celebrity or historical figure would you want to travel with and why? Lone wolf here with stranger anxiety – not really registering any person. Would rather travel with family.
3. What is your favorite travel movie or movie that inspires travel for you? 100 Foot Journey and Eat Pray Love.
4. What language would you like to be fluent in? Mandarin. I already speak it but to speak it like it was my native tongue it would be awesome.
5. Aside from the basics (passport, money/credit card, clothes), what the three must-bring-can’t-live-without items for you on a trip? 1. Comfortable shoes 2. Camera 3. Energy
6. What is one guilty pleasure you have while traveling? I need a nice bathroom. Seriously. A nice bathroom where I stay.
7. What was the best meal you’ve ever had while traveling? Believe it or not I actually look forward to airplane food (depends on the airline though!) and the She Crab Soup I had in Beijing (Liu Liu restaurant I think? It has been AGES!).
8. What was the worst meal you’ve ever while traveling? Airplane food (love hate relationship – can you tell?) and a Turtle soup ( I did not know it was turtle!) in Shenzhen, China.
9. If you had a theme song for your travels and adventures, what would it be? Hook on a Feeling by Blue Swede
10. You’ve been given a round-trip ticket to anywhere on the planet and could take one person with you. Where are you going and who are you going with? The Mister of course. Malta, Monaco and Maldives (Keeping with the M theme).
11. What is your favorite souvenir? Photos from my travel
12. What is your favorite city in the world and why? San Francisco.   It has this wonderful energy in it… maybe it’s the people? The weather? I don’t know. I just LOVE it.
13. If you had Groundhog Day version of traveling, what one day would you want to repeat over and over again? Watching Russell Watson sing while we are having dinner on the castle grounds under the stars (I love Opera/Operatic Pop music) at Lincolnshire castle in England.
14. What do you fear most when you travel? Plane turbulence (ironic since my dad is a pilot)
15. What is your favorite foreign curse word? (Translate if you wish) Leche. (MILK)
16. If you had US$1 million to spend on travel, how would you spend it? First thing that comes to mind is to go around the world — BUT the sound of looking for an island with a deserted beach and to stay there indefinitely (or until the $1 million runs out) would be awesome.
17. What do you think is the most underrated city or country in the world? The Philippines. We have SO much to offer.
18. Where is the most memorable place you’ve ever stayed at? My own Home. After work, traveling etc. the best place to be in is your own Home and to sleep in your own bed.
19. What is your pet peeve – travel version? Flight delays and no leg room on planes (especially long haul ones).
20. What is the last place on earth you’d visit? A place with no decent bathroom.
    

    Bikes in Macau (Photo by Caroline Diaz)