Life after death? Gary Vey, a contributor to viewzone writes his personal story: In 2004 I was living in Vietnam and had just married my wife. I was teaching computer programming at a university in Ho Chi Minh City and the classes were stopped so that the students could celebrate Tet -- the annual lunar holiday. This occurs in early February and it's a big deal -- like Christmas in America. Naturally my wife wanted to travel to visit her family so she left for her home town of Vinh Long, in the Mekong Delta. I stayed in the city. An American friend came to visit me and talked me in to going with him on a bus to Phnom Penh, the capital city of neighboring Cambodia. I had never been there and it seemed like a good adventure. The bus trip was inexpensive and took about a half day. When we arrived in Phnom Penh, we split up and I found accommodations in a cheap hotel near the banks of the Mekong River. There is a park on the river that was full of families also celebrating the Tet holiday. While I was strolling through the park I met an Australian man in his late 30's who talked to me and asked me to accompany him to a local bar. We had a few beers and I found that I was surprisingly intoxicated after drinking just three bottles. So much so that the gentleman offered to help me back to my hotel room. I thanked the bloke and had one last beer with him, which he produced from his backpack. After I drank that bottle I must have passed out on my bed. The next time I opened my eyes was at 3 AM in the morning in a French run hospital. I was intubated and a male doctor stood over me with two electric shock paddles in his hand. "Here he is! Gary! Gary! Are you with us?" They explained to me that I had died and that they had brought me back to life. I remember being so calm and not at all frightened or surprised. Although I had been found in the hotel by a maid with no signs of life, I had in fact been visiting with my childhood friend, David, in a dimly lit room, discussing the fact that I had to return to my life because, as Dave put it, "It's not your time yet, man." Dave and I met in grade school when we were 5 or 6 years old. Throughout our lives we always connected and talked about life, women, our jobs... and we were always able to share everything, no matter how good or bad, and manage to laugh and joke about life. I always felt good being around Dave, and that was exactly the same feeling I had when I opened my eyes in the Emergency Room in Cambodia. I learned through the local police that the Australian had given me a powerful drug that, when combined with alcohol, is usually fatal. He did this to steal my passport -- a valuable commodity in Asia as it can be altered and sold for lots of cash. Eventually I got my new passport and returned to Vietnam and my wife. We moved state-side in 2005 and set up home in Ruidoso, New Mexico. One of the first calls I made when we got our phone was to Dave, to tell him about my Cambodian adventure. His wife answered the phone. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry, Gary. Dave passed away last year. He had a heart attack and died instantly while playing hockey. We tried to contact everyone but we didn't know how to reach you." I was totally freaked and felt such a huge loss. "When did this happen?" "It was last year in late January." I learned it was just about two weeks before my own encounter with death. Dave had already been dead! The weirdness of this gradually came to haunt me. But now it gives me comfort. It seems there is "something" on the other side of life. And so I am writing to see if anyone else has had similar experiences. Please send your stories to myristicin@hotmail.com and I'll post them for comments and discussion. Thanks everyone! Gary Vey Back to Viewzone || Comments?