The House Of

Dot Com

After years of alternating between its Fort Lauderdale and Bangkok offices, THOCBDC kept gradually forcing its thumb down on the Bangkok side of the scale. It's now official: Bangkok's Athenee Residence has become the permanent home.

Latest update (February 29, 2016): That's All!

• In 1996, a final Swiss flight through a misty gorge was the highlight of Stephani's Journal for today.
• In 1997, Paul's Transfer Journal continued from Austria to Germany, then back to Austria for a lunch at Schloss Fuschl, a check-in at the Hotel Kobenzl outside Salzburg, and a visit to the Weissbier Brewery's restaurant, where Sandra played with the table utensils.
• In 1999, Alf's Meridiana flight went from Florence to London; one of the engines took a nap along the way, but the Plunge of Death was avoided.
• In 2000, Alf's British Airways flight took his luggage from Bangkok to London on British Airways; Alf continued without it to Edinburgh.
• In 2001, Alf continued to wait for Susan to recover from her long Florida-to-Bangkok journey. Later, Susan reported on her problems with Room 1419's confusing "make up room" switch and the noise level. Room 1503 proved to be quieter.
• In 2002, we read some yellowed stories from The Latin Reader while we waited for a translation of the mysterious Arabic text that accompanied a photo of Watcharee's cousin on the Al Qafelah web site.
• In 2003, had his last dinner at River Garden before leaving Bangkok.
• In 2004, dinner was at the Shangri-La.
• In 2005, we virtually visited Brompton Cemetery.
• In 2006, thirty-two floors of the residence were complete.
• In 2007, Watcharee was behind the new wheel ... plus, Beloit.
• In 2008, a photo showed a mystery location.
• In 2009, the International Herald Tribune carried an unusual death notice.
• In 2010, Nana received a face lift.
• In 2011, there was a choice of taxis.
• In 2012, Tartine served lunch.
• In 2013, some girls understood what was happening.
• In 2015, there were eastern and southeastern views.

From our archives ...

Visit Elephant Polo Player Tom Claytor's Everest 2010 Site

Over the years, corkscrew-balloon.com has visited The Medieval Torture Museum in San Gimignano, Italy, several times. Links to various travel journals and photos from those visits can be found in our miscellaneous pages.

Due to popular demand, we added a whole new section featuring this Tuscan institution! Included are illustrations and descriptions of several devices on display at the museum. Those who are interested in this field of endeavor will definitely want to take a virtual tour through these pages.

There are now four Corkscrew Balloons! You can see the development of this new balloon though the photo shoot with balloon model Jan and Sian's subsequent masterful design work ... as all is revealed in Alf's February 2002 Journal, in Part III and Part IV. Also available: construction photos and pix of the balloon's first inflation.

Here are this year's Best Six:

Cleverly disguised under the cover of RUDIMENTARY ECONOMICS is hidden a scrapbook of newspaper clippings from the late 1800s. 1885 to be exact. The first clipping apparently is from April, the last from January 26, 1886. A few are out of chronological order.

It is a scrapbook of sadness, gore, tragedy, woe, wasted lives, bloodlettings, shootings, live burials and fatal fogs. Little things that will make your own life a little peppier ... perhaps, perhaps not.

Part I of my "re-clippings" includes seventy-three stories I clipped in June and July of 2001; Part II contains several additional entries from August.

See also The Latin Reader ... another textbook pasted over with gory news stories from long ago.

Hundreds of photos created by Annie Erickson are available throughout this corkscrew-balloon site. A few select ones are presented at anniephotos.com. Anyone who is missing Thailand might want to review a portfolio of digital photos Annie shot in Bangkok a few years ago.

You might also want to check out Annie's North Korea portfolio.

The Annual General Meeting of the International Correspondence of Corkscrew Addicts for 2003 took place in Roanoke, Virginia.

Watcharee
Ballooning
Elephant Polo
Antique Corkscrews
Useful Links
Useless Links
Fort Lauderdale and South Florida
Recommended Books
LeeAnna Yater, artist
Annie's Photos

(Since September 2, 2009)

See more Namfon

The Athenee Residence is the new Asian Headquarters for The House of Corkscrew-Balloon Dot Com. As the building went from breaking ground to final touches, we monitored its construction progress and provided updates.

The old journals become more fun to revisit with each passing year, as we look back on them with some perspective. Years from now, these will be the primary resources of historians.

We recently took a look back at 2007. There are lots of travels, lots of dinners, trips back and forth between Bangkok and Fort Lauderdale ... and more.

• 2007 Chronology

And you can revisit the following years, too. We invite you to live in the past!

• 1996 Chronology
• 1997 Chronology
• 1998 Chronology
• 1999 Chronology
• 2000 Chronology
• 2001 Chronology
• 2002 Chronology
• 2003 Chronology
• 2004 Chronology
• 2005 Chronology
• 2006 Chronology

Or ... take a look at a travel journal, from sometime in the past several years, that we've selected just for you: Your random journal was written by Alf, and it's ... After Ballooning at Chateau d'Oex 1997!

In the summer of 2003, Alf and Watcharee, along with Pom and Golf, went to Hong Kong to do some shopping for Screwless Tuskers apparel.

During the first few weeks of May 2002, Alf and Paul counted down the days leading up to the Northern European Ballooning and Zeppelining Adventure. First, logging in from Thailand, Alf created another Bangkok Journal. Then, on May 17, Alf passed the journal pen to Paul in the United States, for a short Silverdale Journal.

The amazing Northern European Ballooning and Zeppelining Adventure included visits to Berlin, Sweden, Helsinki, and St. Petersburg! Paul's Journal tells the story, with selections from two thousand digital photos snapped during the trip. There was so much to report, updates are still being added to this day.

Most recent addition: entries for June 10 and 11, including Alf's sudden change in plans.

After Russia: Alf's Journal covers the spontaneous post-Russia trip to France for a week of ballooning, and it concludes with an Air France flight to Bangkok, and dinner back home at the Oriental Hotel.

The Screwy Tuskers elephant polo team competed in numerous World Cup matches over the years. In 2003, the world of competitive elephant polo saw the introduction of a "sister" team, the Screwless Tuskers.

Details of both teams' exciting matches, along with their tasteful fashions, can be found at our main polo page.

Join The House of Corkscrew Balloon as it presents a rare glimpse into Thailand's Corrections Museum ... one of the least-visited tourist attractions in Bangkok.