The crowds and costumes of Hong Kong’s Halloween

The expats, exchange students, interns and locals who love to party, love to party on October 31st. Those who don’t, go anyway. It’s a chance to stand out in a city where crowds are the norm and an excuse to wear self-indulgent outfits with no shame or abashment. If none of the above, at least a chance to see a parade of bizarre, occasionally unsightly costumes where people are normally so fashion-conscious.

Two places to mention: Lan Kwai Fong and Wan Chai, both in Hong Kong island. No, this is not the off-the-beaten-path guide to Hong Kong’s Halloween, if that can even exist.

Lan Kwai Fong

In Lan Kwai Fong (a.k.a. LKF), there are two things you must expect on Halloween. First, a queue. I’m not talking about a queue to get into the clubs, I’m talking about a queue to get into the area.

You see that big mounted wall of light in the distance? That’s the mouth of LKF, but not where the bars and clubs start. And this, where the picture was taken, was where my friends were in the line to get in. Yes, it’s that crazy. Which brings me to the second thing you should expect. Once you get in, this is what you see:

Wigs in your face, faces in your face, and just endless sea of people as you squirm your way through to get to the next club, which I guarantee will be full. But it has an upside if you’re crowd-tolerant (and non-claustrophobic) — that you get to show off your expensive, tough-to-make, or otherwise creative costume to more people at once.

Even if you have no costume, there are definitely a lot of interesting sights and events here. Get tickets early to any of their many themed parties, or just walk around and wing it — just don’t expect a leisurely strut.

Wan Chai

And then there’s Wan Chai, which is always more laid-back than LKF (except on certain sports days, when you can hear the roar of zealous fans from two blocks down). If you want more legroom, this is where you should go.

Legroom enough to take a picture of these guys. You’ll see that there are no crazy crowds, but there’s no shortage of costumes here either. It kind of turns into what LKF is on normal days, which is fine by me. When in Wan Chai, we usually end up staying around Typhoon, Swindlers, Carnegie’s and of course, Club 7-11, where all the cool, rich kids hang out (ha ha). I’m not much of a party person, but I love hanging out with friends as much as the next guy, and seeing weird costumes is a definite plus!

So what did I wear? Well, see for yourself!

I, of course, am the one on the left. How do I look?

I have to say that despite the exceptionally large number of party-goers, police officers and hooligans out in the streets, Halloween in Hong Kong is definitely a sight worth seeing and an experience worth having.

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Disclaimer: I, as a Christian, don’t subscribe to most Halloween traditions that celebrate all things spooky. But legalism isn’t really my thing, so let’s just say I’m happy to have an opportunity to go out in costume and have fun!

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