The Pigeons And the Witchdoctor: Adventures of a Modern Mapmaker

by Thung, Heng

• ISBN13: 9780971331839
• ISBN10: 0971331839
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-06-30
• Publisher: Lucky Pr Llc

Summary

Aerial photo interpretation remains an art, in spite of all attempts to give it a scientific aura. The science of collecting imagery has advanced very rapidly, and now it is possible to see many things that were previously never witnessed by the human eye. But to read the face of the earth requires more than just science. Maybe it is not really the problem of man himself trying to be able to see and explain what he sees, but maybe it is his environment, which keeps its ever-changing prerogative.

Author Biography

Heng Thung was born in the Dutch East Indies, which later became Indonesia. He received a Bachelor of Arts in geology, a Master of Science in aerial photo studies, and a Ph.D. in transportation, regional, and city planning ù all from Cornell University. It was the study of aerial photos, and later satellite imagery, which made a profound impression on him and set the course for his career. Using satellite imagery, one could map more of the world in a shorter period of time while sitting behind a stereoscope than tromping for extended periods through the bush and jungle, though Thung's work took him all around the globe. The author mapped dwellings to establish the population of villages and mapped the poppy fields of the Golden Triangle. He made studies for war and the development of countries à and the rehabilitation of countries destroyed by war, such as Cambodia. Thung mapped the land from Thailand, Laos, Myanmar to Cambodia, from the tropical jungle of Sumatra and the veldt of Africa to the Arctic Islands of Spitzbergen north of Norway. He has lately found enjoyment in mapping the ruins of the Angkor Empire in Cambodia, making new discoveries behind Angkor's decline and the denudation of the Forest of the once mighty empire a thousand years ago. Heng Thung and his wife, Yvonne, live in Bangkok, Thailand where Dr. Thung continues to work on various projects related to his expertise.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
A Lifelong Fascination with Aerial Photography Begins	1	(7)
The Art of Aerial Photo Interpretation	8	(6)
A Quarter Million Little Pictures	14	(5)
Going to the U.S.A.	19	(8)
Oil Exploration in Pakan Baru Sumatra	27	(10)
The Arctic Islands of Spitzbergen, North of Norway	37	(19)
Aerial Photo Research in Thailand	56	(15)
Return to Thailand	71	(14)
An Introduction to the Golden Triangle	85	(14)
Poppy Survey in the Making	99	(6)
Recovery of U-2 Film	105	(4)
Poppy Survey in Laos	109	(12)
Counting People and Other Things, Laos	121	(13)
The Dutch Connection and Poppies	134	(13)
Invitation to Tanzania	147	(9)
Flying over Far Away Places	156	(7)
Tabora, the Old Capital of Tanganjika	163	(8)
Mapping Tanzania	171	(6)
In Search of Diamonds	177	(11)
The Mountains of Kitui	188	(8)
Joshua, the Mapmaker	196	(4)
At the United Nations	200	(11)
Remote Sensing for the Pacific Islands	211	(6)
Leningrad	217	(13)
Land Mines and Refugees	230	(9)
The Aerial Mapping of Cambodia	239	(8)
The Wa Country	247	(10)
About the Author	257