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Meet The Man Who Spent 41 Years In The Jungle With His Dad

Meet The Man Who Spent 41 Years In The Jungle With His Dad

Ho Van Lang grew up in the jungle with no contact with other humans, not even knowing what a female was.

George Pavlou

George Pavlou

It can be difficult for people in the developed world to comprehend that there are still human beings out there who don't need a mobile phone, WiFi or a Netflix account, just the land to live off.

Ho Van Lang spent 41 years with his father Ho Van Thanh in the forests of the Tay Tra district in Vietnam until being discovered in 2013.

Ho Van Thanh, now 85, fled to the forest with his then two-year-old son after his wife and two other sons were killed during the Vietnam War.


Ho Van Thanh. Credit: Alvaro Cerezo

For 41 years they learned survival skills and lived off the land, completely unaware of the developing world and the war they fled from had ended.

Then in 2013, foragers saw the two 'jungle men' and contacted local authorities who brought the pair back to civilisation.

But in an eye-opening new documentary by photographer Alvaro Cerezo of Docastaway, Ho Van Lang has returned to jungle where he spent the vast majority of his life.


Credit: YouTube

Now 44, Ho Van Lang lives in a small house near the forest with his father and is learning to adapt to his new life.

Cerezo said of the trip: "At the beginning my intention was to learn new survival techniques from him but without realising, I unveiled one of the most endearing people I have ever met."

The story is completely insane. In 41 years, the pair never came into contact with other humans, had five different homes and learned to live off the land. Ho Van Lang is asexual having never come into contact with a woman and being completely unaware they were even a thing. Even now he's living in regular civilisation, he still struggles to understand what a female is.


Ho Van Lang. Credit: Alvaro Cerezo

But as deforestation took its toll, the pair were sighted more frequently, leaving one of the two sons who was believed to have been killed, to be sure the pair living in the forest was his family.

With Ho Van Thanh's aging however, he was unsure and untrusting of the invasion of privacy as his 'new son' kept coming to visit.

Ho Van Lang on the other hand was far more receptive and accepting of the visits.


Alvaro Cerezo and Ho Van Lang. Credit: Alvaro Cerezo

After some time, the pair were found by local authorities who brought them back to civilisation, something Ho Van Lang has found a lot easier to adapt to than his father.

If you want to read more about the life of Ho Van Lang and the visit of Cerezo, I urge you to read this blog which has some absolutely fascinating insights into arguably the most unique existence the modern world has ever known.

If you want to keep up with the release of the documentary, go to this website.

Words by George Pavlou

Featured image credit: Alvaro Cerezo

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