Irishman, Vietnamese reunited 21 yrs after crossing Pacific on bamboo raft The reunion of former sailor Luong Viet Loi (1st left), Irish explorer Tim Severin (center), and Vietnamese translator Do Thai Binh at Binh's house in Ho Chi Minh City. Picture taken April 2, 2014. Thoai Tran Vietnamese translator Do Thai Binh (1st left), Irish explorer Tim Severin (center), and former sailor Luong Viet Loi look at photos depicting the process of making their bamboo raft in Sam Son Town, located in central Vietnam, 21 years ago at Binh's house in Ho Chi Minh City. Picture taken April 2, 2014. Thoai Tran Luong Viet Loi (L) and Tim Severin take a look at a map showing the itinerary of their journey across 5,500 miles of the Pacific Ocean on a Vietnamese bamboo raft in 1993. Picture taken April 2, 2014. Thoai Tran An Irish explorer has just been reunited with the Vietnamese sailor with whom he traveled 5,500 miles on a Vietnamese-made bamboo raft across the Pacific Ocean more than two decades ago. A three-hour talk early this month between Tim Severin, 74, and Luong Viet Loi, 56, conjured memories of the 105-day sea trip in 1993 when the two men sailed with five other sailors through the vast ocean on a raft made of Vietnamese bamboo and rattan ropes. After leaving Vietnam in March and officially departing from Hong Kong for the U.S. in May, they stopped miles away from California’s coast in November of that year. They made several stops, including those in Taiwan and Japan, on their journey so the total number of days during which they traveled at sea were 105. The seamen, led by Severin, were just short of their goal to make it to California, but the trip was still an unforgettable experience for Severin and Loi, who hails from the central Vietnamese province of Thanh Hoa. Severin looked younger than expected during his meeting with Loi in Ho Chi Minh City on April 2, thanks to his passion for traveling around the world. He conducted nine expeditions throughout every continent from 1961 to 1999, when he was 59 years old. The Irishman strode down cruise ship Crystal Symphony on a sweltering afternoon in the southern city in 36-37 degree-Celsius heat wearing a gray shirt, black trousers, a gray baseball cap, and a pair of rubber-soled brown shoes.  The cruise ship, accommodating about 1,000 passengers, arrived at Phu Huu Port in the city’s District 9 on April 1 and set sail for Hong Kong three days later. Severin was invited to give presentations on his adventures during the cruise. "This is the second time I have visited Vietnam, and this trip reminds me of good and strong memories, especially with the people of Vietnam," he mused to Tuoitrenews reporters in a car on the way to the house of Do Thai Binh, who co-translated his book The China Voyage: Across the Pacific by Bamboo Raft into Vietnamese. Severin dropped by Vietnam to meet Binh in person after the two had worked via email on the translation of the book for a long time. The two also wanted to organize an event to introduce the Vietnamese version of Severin’s book to local readers but they could not do it eventually. The translation, "Bè tre Việt Nam du ký – 5.500 dặm vượt Thái Bình Dương,” was published early this month, while the English original was first released in 1996. Severin gave his book that title because he originally wanted to set off from China in an attempt to re-enact a voyage made by a Chinese man in ancient times. But the explorer failed to find a bamboo raft in China when he arrived there in 1991. A friend of Severin’s who had been to Vietnam advised him to go to Thanh Hoa’s Sam Son Town to look for the special raft, as he had seen people use it there. The Irishman took his advice and went to the Southeast Asian country to seek someone who could build and steer the bamboo raft safely throughout the Pacific Ocean. His eyes glittered as he recalled his time living in the coastal town to build the bamboo raft in preparation for his historic journey across the Pacific. Severin supervised the building of the raft in Sam Son from December 1992 to March 1993 during which the number of builders ranged from 20 to 100, depending on which section they were working on. “The Vietnamese I worked with were very intelligent, diligent, and passionate. Once they had determined to do something, they would spare all efforts for their goal regardless of any hardships,” he told the reporters about the process of making the bamboo raft. He never knew he would be reunited with Loi, his sailor 21 years ago. Thoai Tran - Binh Minh,Tuoitrenews