Halloween, Bangkok-style

 

We celebrated Halloween here in Bangkok the two days prior to actual Halloween. On Friday, the embassy set up tick-or-treating and a party afterward and, then on Saturday, the kids got to go up and down in our building to participating candy distributors and then to a subsequent party.

First on Friday, the kids got ready at home. Eliana was in the first of her two costumes--a bumblebee, and Shane was either a skeleton or one on the bad guys from The Karate Kid.

Then, they came in to meet me at work.

Then, they followed a spooky parade route of trick-or-treating through two floors of offices.

Then, there was a party set up in the cafeteria afterward with games, food and contests.

Shane won the costume contest for his age group but was fairly nonplussed about the first contest win of his life.

Eliana won a cupcake in a musical chairs-type contest.

And then on Saturday, Eliana switched things up for our building's local trick-or treating and went as Snow White.

She went up and down to the various floors (note the double meaning) of the building.

In the end, she got herself a nice little haul. Of course, trick-or-treating in a foreign country means getting some new and interesting treats. Of note are the gummy everything (hot dogs, fangs, hamburgers, bugs, etc.), buttered corn-flavored crackers, restaurant after dinner mints, Toblerone, seahorse and dolphin-shaped colored sugar water, gold kroner chocolate coins, and proliferation of cola-flavored candies.

However, Eliana proved to be her Uncle E's niece and discovered Pixie Sticks (which might explain her 3-hour-later-than-usual bedtime and madcap playing with the neighbor kids).

Meanwhile, Shane rehashed the previous day's costume for his first Halloween.