Ko Lamphu  Ko Lamphu (เกาะลำพู) is a small island in the Tapi River, Thailand, about from the river's mouth, near the town center of Surat Thani. It is connected by bridge to the city at the pillar shrine. Ko Lamphu is flat and long. It has no cars, and is used for picnics and sports, and to eat at the food stalls along the promenade by the riverfront of an evening. Ko Lamphu is distinct from Ko Lamphu Rai, a riverine island in Trat Province. The Chak Phra and the Thot Phapa Buddhist ceremonies are celebrated on the same day in October at Ko Lamphu. At the Thot Phapa event Buddha images on elaborately decorated carriages are pulled by local people during land- and water-borne processions. This ceremony takes place at dawn. Chak Phra, celebrated later in the day, consists of offering saffron robes to monks and donations to temples at the end of the Buddhist Rains Retreat.