Real-life Tarzan lived for 40 years in jungle before returning to civilisation in 2013 – World News

Ho Van Lang died last month aged 52 and close friend Alvaro Cerez has been paying tribute to him by sharing some of his life’s big moments – including seeing a city for the very first time

A friend of the man dubbed the ‘real life Tarzan’ after spending 40 years surviving in the jungle has spoken about the moment he first stepped foot back into civilisation.

Ho Van Lang and his father had survived alone for four decades in the Vietnamese wilderness before the decision was made to go home in 2013.

They opted for the jungle life after fleeing the atrocities of the Vietnam War when Lang was just a baby. A US bomb fell on their home and killed his mum and two siblings.

The duo started a new life and lived entirely off of the land – eating honey, fruit and forest creatures, building shelters and fending for themselves.

But last month, eight years after they were brought back by Lang’s older brother, he died of liver cancer aged 52 after meeting the “fatal consequences” of “modern life”.

Now his friend Alvaro Cerez has shared unseen footage from a secret trip back to nature where Ho was filmed reacting to flying on a plane, sailing at sea and seeing a big city for the first time.

The pair met through Alvaro’s work with Docastaway, an organisation which helps people escape to desert islands, and the explorer decided to help Lang return to the wilderness he loved for a break after the death of his father.

Alvaro said: “Lang was grieving after the death of his father in 2018 and I decided it was the right time to help him return to nature for a little while.

“During the long journey to the desert island Lang discovered many new things for the first time, like seeing a big city from a distance while we spent the night in a hotel near the airport.

“We made sure to avoid walking in the busy streets while being in the city, at all costs so he wasn’t overwhelmed. But his reactions to things were incredible to watch.

“He was enthusiastic to jump on board the plane and watched in awe from the sky the whole time. His only idea of planes had been things that crossed his overhead in the sky.

“In the jungle his dad explained that they weren’t birds but hollow objects with people inside.

“But he still couldn’t understand how such a massive object could move while suspended in the air.”

While fighting as a soldier in the Vietnam war, Lang’s father, Ho Van Thanh fled into the jungle with Lang after losing his mother and two other children when his home was bombed.

The father-son duo lived for decades in the forest of what is now known as the Tra Bong District before they were found by Lang’s older brother Ho Van Tri – who later decided to bring his dad and brother home with the help of the authorities when Thanh’s health began to deteriorate in August 2013.

Alvaro and Lang met two years later when the explorer approached Lang to see if he would be willing to share some of his incredible survival skills by returning to the jungle where Lang grew up.

The pair quickly became friends and Alvaro promised that he would eventually show Lang ‘his world’ of secret and undisclosed desert islands.

Alvaro said: “I filmed many of the special moments I shared with Lang but this footage has never been seen before. The time we spent together was unforgettable.

“He had only ever heard of the ocean in tales from his father growing up so to watch him discover it for the first time was incredible.

“I remember one night he woke up thirsty and unable to open a coconut decided to go to the shore for a drink.

“But was horrified to discover how salty the seawater was. It was like seeing the life we live today through the eyes of someone from the distant past.”

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