This past weekend was both Halloween and Loy Krathong here in Thailand. Judging by friends' Facebook photos, it seems that families, both Thai and foreign, at least those here in the city, are developing a taste for putting their children in costumes and going house-to-house in search of treats, with entire moobaans (subdivisions) getting into the act with elaborate Halloween decorations. Meanwhile, the Thai tradition of floating krathongs, basically floral arrangements with a candle and incense sticks, continues as an annual tradition to wash away cares and problems.
And, since Thailand acted early to stop Covid-19, with just a few isolated cases in many months, everyone carried on with just mask wearing. It was good to see that everything was nearly back to normal. Except for one thing -- no tourists or resident foreigners who had the misfortune to be out-of-Thailand when the lockdown hit. Sadly, this means that many local people dependent on tourists and resident foreigners for their income are still hard-hit so everything is not as "normal" as it appeared in the photos of this weekend's merriment.
We've been busy in October, and this Bulletin reflects that. At times, too busy, and we wish we had our out-of-country members here to help. Take time to relax and read about our activities, below. You can better view each story by clicking on the story's title where you'll be taken to the story on our website, displayed in a full-page, easy-to-view format