I'd been to Vietnam several times writing corporate movies for an international company, one I wrote actually used the example of a martial arts Master and how you needed to have a strong healthy body, a clear mind and purpose that are attributes of building a healthy successful business.

Suddenly, Longy suggested we visit Vietnam and we could stay with his sister's family in the heart of Saigon.

Each time I stepped on to the ground in Vietnam, I tried to imagine what it would have been like for my friends who had gone at such a young age bearing guns not knowing what was ahead of them in this totally unfamiliar country. I couldn't.

Longy's  sister and her family had a'semi detached' house. Often at night their friends would visit and share their terrifying wartime experiences. Close friends who had been part of his 'street gang' visited, and it was obvious their admiration for the wild boy with a unique mix of rock hard fists, warm heart and the temperament of a tiger when challenged physically.

I saw the love and respect he was regarded with, and how proud of them he was for they all now had good jobs teaching etc.
The war left Vietnam with one of the world's youngest populations as their parents generation had suffered such huge casualties and in South Vietnam almost totally decimated.

The Vietnamese are very gentle people, but probably one of the most strongest willed when tested in extreme situations. Their tenacity and ingenuity was evident at the infamous tunnels Cu Chi tunnels, a vast underground network that went for miles with kitchens, dormitories and mini hospitals. Although they had been almost totally destroyed by carpet bombing they had been reconstructed. Camouflaged entrances opened to a vertical drop down to sharpened bamboo spikes to impale the unsuspecting invaders unaware what was waiting for them. I felt so claustrophobic doubled over most of  the tunnel ceilings were so low I couldn't imagine  living there for months, and couldn't wait to surface and breath fresh air again.

Going to the tunnels was an emotional experience, one of the guides and Longy started talking and realizing both had been on different sides in the war marveled at how they were able to sit together now with no ill feeling as they embraced each other in a sign of brotherhood. Moments like these are heartfelt and beautiful.

There was a shooting range nearby using weapons from the period, I surprised Longy and especially myself with the accuracy of my shots and I attributed this to the DNA of my lineage.

On a slow boat along the Mekong River, Longy reminisced how for exercise, he would swim across the river and back through the strongest currents to build his strength. This served him well during the war, at night when American ships were moored he would swim out with cartons of cigarettes and toss them up onto the decks, and in exchange bundles of jeans would be thrown back to be sold on the blackmarket.

Like much of the time we spent together the trip was to be a mix of both good fun and profound times. 

​

I was already addicted to the traditional Vietnamese Pho, a delicious and nourishing soup from bone broth with meat, noodles and a mix of fresh herbs and bhan mi, the classic French baguette with Vietnamese filling, the use of fresh herbs always tasty and refreshing and I ate as many as I could as Longy knew the best restaurants in town. 

A visit to an orphanage where he had taught the children simple martial arts and the value of a positive attitude.

Men in tuxedos and women in gowns danced gracefully to a full orchestra in a flashback to the elegant styles of the forties in underground clubs that seemed to have survived the war and were unknown to tourists. 

Longy hadn't a chance to return since the war and we went to visit his mother's grave. I knew he had a beautiful and generous heart,

but this was very profound experience to share with him. His tenderness and emotion as he gently brushed leaves from the grave with his tears in his eyes. A man tiger with the strength and will that could literally tear you from limb to limb was openly sharing the depth of love he felt for his mother who had unconditionally showered him with love. He was also able to visit his father in hospital who had only recently been released from the "education camp".

All too soon it was time to leave Vietnam.

​

I returned to find the belongings I had at my girlfriends were neatly stacked back at my apartment with the news that she did not want to continue. 

Back in Bondi, I continued surfing and having Krustie surfaries to Crescent and Byron, and was fortunate to have really good company  prepared to put up with my snoring when we shared motel rooms on our 'surfaries' .