Traveling is like driving on a mountain road. But among the ups and downs, there will always be those indelible memories that you carry with you throughout your life. The Press tells the adventures, big and small, of travelers who are not afraid of anything. Today: a travel enthusiast who fell in love with Vietnam at first sight.
Published yesterday at 11:30 a.m.
Céline Pilote is a great traveler. She traveled the length and breadth of Europe. She has visited all the Caribbean islands. She also saw China and Chile. “But Vietnam was for me the best of all the trips I made,” she confides in a telephone interview.
The dynamic retiree arrived in Hanoi at the beginning of March 2024, the starting point of a three-week journey south to Ho Chi Minh. “Vietnam is truly magnificent. And the food is good! People are fine. It’s really my favorite! It’s so exotic! », enthusiastically says our interlocutor, seduced by Asia.
It must be said that in the weeks preceding her trip to Vietnam, she was in Thailand, a country which also charmed her. There, she took part in a group motorcycle trip organized by Traditours. She loved the experience so much that she will soon become a guide for the agency, she tells us with a smile in her voice.
It was while planning her stay in Thailand that Céline Pilote wanted to extend her trip by adding a second destination. “I said to myself: “Vietnam, that tempts me!” »
PHOTO PROVIDED BY CÉLINE PILOTE
First meal in Vietnam for Céline Pilote (right) and her new friends
Travel companions
However, the retiree did not want to travel alone. His solution? She posted an ad on the Facebook group “Network of single women seeking co-travelers”. “We’ll see what happens,” she said to herself.
Finally, thanks to her message, she met two women who became her traveling companions, even her friends.
“It was love at first sight,” rejoices the globetrotter. The three women met a few times to see if they got along well.
These meetings were also an opportunity to discuss the places they wanted to visit. To make organization easier, “we each bought the same Vietnam travel guide,” she reveals.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY CÉLINE PILOTE
Marché flottant de Cai Rang
Many favorites
What were Céline Pilote’s favorites? There are many of them!
There is in particular this day when the travelers got up before dawn to go “in a small wooden boat” to the Cái Răng floating market. “They hang on the mast what they sell on the boat. We saw a boat with a pineapple attached to it, the other was a papaya, the other was a big melon,” describes Céline Pilote. The trio bought their lunch from a vendor who was cooking egg banh mi with a small burner. “Everything was rudimentary, but everything was good,” recalls our interlocutor.
“And the people are smart,” she repeats, indicating that it is easy to communicate with them thanks to Google Translate.
There was also this three-day period when they rented scooters to go for walks in the countryside. “It’s a great way to visit,” underlines the motorcycle enthusiast, recalling that in Vietnam, the scooter is a very popular means of transport.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY CÉLINE PILOTE
On a scooter on a ferry
She also names their stop in Hội An.
There is a river there where people buy a small lantern, make a wish and let the lantern go down the river. It’s super beautiful. There are lots of lanterns floating everywhere.
Celine Pilote
But the place that Céline Pilote absolutely wanted to include on their itinerary was the Love Pagoda, located in Hanoi, she admits. Being newly separated, she thought that a visit to this place might bring her a little luck in her love life.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY CÉLINE PILOTE
The Pagoda of Love
For now, her prayers have not yet been answered, but one thing is certain, her future spouse must enjoy traveling. She already has her next destinations in mind: Peru, Argentina, Laos and Cambodia… among others.
