Chak Phra Festival

Chak Phra means pulling the Buddha, and the festival marks Ok Phansa, the end of the rains retreat in October, in a form specific to southern Thailand. Temples mount their principal Buddha image on a decorated float - a wheeled carriage for the land procession or a barge for the water one - and the community pulls it by rope through the streets or tows it down the river, with people lining the banks to make offerings as it passes. At Surat Thani the river procession on the Tapi is the largest, with dozens of temple barges in convoy, alongside a land procession, longboat races on the river, and a fair through the city. The practice derives from the story of the Buddha's return to earth after preaching to his mother, when people came out to meet him. Dates follow the lunar calendar and change each year, and the city fills for the week.

What you actually see

• The river barges - temple Buddha images towed down the Tapi in convoy.
• The land procession - carriages pulled by rope through the streets.
• The longboat races - held on the river during the same festival.
• The southern form - a version of Ok Phansa specific to the south.

When to go

October at Ok Phansa; the date follows the lunar calendar and moves each year. Two days covers the water and land processions.

Honest expectations

Dates change yearly and are announced locally. Surat Thani accommodation fills for the festival. Riverbank viewing is crowded and hot. Most visitors pass through Surat Thani for the islands and miss it entirely.

Nearby

Surat Thani is the ferry gateway to Samui and Phangan; Khao Sok is west.