Roi Ed is a
province in the lower Northeast. It is the land of Thung
Kula Rong Hai that was formerly regarded as a wasteland.
However, it is now the one of the sources of high-quality
rice in the country.
Roi Ed has an area of about 8,299 square kilometres,
consisting of the following districts: Mueang, Thawat Buri,
Selaphum, Phon Thong, Nong Phok, At Samat, Phanom Phrai,
Chaturaphak Phiman, Kaset Wisai, Suwannaphum, Pathum Rat,
Pho Chai, Mueang Suang, Phon Sai, Moei Wadi, Si Somdet,
Changhan, Chiang Khwan, Nong Hi and Thung Khao Luang.
Bueng Phlan Chai
This is
a large lake with an island in the middle. The lake is
regarded as the symbol of Roi Et. The area has a public
park and is the site of the city shrine.
Wat Burapha Phiram
This
temple is situated in town and has the tallest Buddha
image in the giving blessing posture in Thailand. This
is another provincial symbol. The image is called Phra
Phuttha Ratta Mongkhon Maha Muni, or called Luang Pho
Yai by locals. The 67-metre-high image is concrete with
reinforced steel. The base is a museum. To the west is
an old city moat where the revered Chao Pho Mahesak
Shrine is located.
Wat Klang Ming Mueang
This is
an old temple on a hill in the town. The convocation
hall was built in the late Ayutthaya period. The outer
wall has a mural on the life of Lord Buddha. In the old
days the temple was the site of a pledge of allegiance
to the king.
Wat Sa Thong
The
Luang Pho Sang Katchai Buddha image is located in this
temple. This revered Buddha image was discovered by
Phraya Khattiya Wongsa, the first lord of Roi Et, in
1782. He then brought the image to the temple and made
it the province’s main image. Government officials were
once obliged to swear in front of the image every year.
Thawat Buri
Ban Wai Luem
Ban
Wai Luem is 25 kilometres from Roi Et on the Si Sa
Ket-Yasothon route. This silk-weaving village has a
housewife group selling village products.
Prang Ku
Prang Ku is at Ban Yang Ku, Tambon Ma-I. To get there,
take the Roi Et-Phon Thong road (Highway No. 2044)
for 8 kilometres. This medical centre of the Khmer
period was built in the 18th Buddhist century and
comprises a main pagoda, a wall, a doorway, and a
pool outside the wall. The artefacts displayed here
include a sandstone lintel that was once above the
doorway of the main pagoda, door columns and a
lotus-shaped top part of the pagoda.
Selaphum
Bung
Klua
Bung Klua is in Tambon
Muang Phrai, 10 kilometres east of the district
office. This large lake has a white beach popular
with locals.
Kaset
Wisai
Ku Ka Sing
Ku
Ka Sing can be reached by taking a branch road off
the Kaset Wisai-Suwannaphum road for 10 kilometres.
The other way is by taking the Roi Et-Surin route to
Ku Phra Ko Na and then a right-hand road for 18
kilometres. Ku Ka Sing is a large Khmer structure
built in the 16th Buddhist century. It consists of 3
pagodas on the same base. This base has elaborate
designs. Many statues and lintels are kept in the
province’s museum.
Suwannaphum
Ku Phra Ko Na
Ku
Phra Ko Na is in Tambon Sa Khu, 60 kilometres from
Amphoe Mueang on the Roi Et-Suwannaphum-Surin route.
The site is 3 brick pagodas on a sandstone base
lined from north to south. A wall and a doorway are
also present. Estimated to have been built in the
16th Buddhist century, much of the pagoda had been
altered. There used to exist a lintel, a Naga bridge
and a sheltered walkway leading to the pool nearby.
Northeastern Botany in Literature Park
This
is in Tambon Pha Nam Yoi, 85 kilometres from
Yasothon. Plants here are from Thai literature like
Phra Wetsandon and Lilit Phra Lo. There are also
herbs categorised according to their medicinal
attributes.
Pha Nam Yoi Forest Park
This
forest park is at Ban Khok Klang, northeast of Nong
Phok district office. To get there, take Highway No.
2044 and 2136 for 62 kilometres. The park has a
steep cliff that rises about 200 metres. Water seeps
down the entire year. The area is a thick jungle
teeming with wildlife.
Thung Kula Rong Hai
This
land used to be an expansive, dry, harsh place in
the middle of the region. It covers 5 provinces
which are Roi Et, Surin, Buri Ram, Yasothon, and
Maha Sarakham. One-third of the area is in Roi Et.
There is a legend that says the Kula people were
traders in ancient times who were also great
fighters with excellent stamina. However, they cried
when they got to Thung Kula Rong Hai because it was
such a desolate place without water and big trees.
Nowadays the area is fertile due to the efforts of
the government to develop it and is suitable for
agriculture. The development centre is 6 kilometres
from the district office, a bit past Ku Phra Ko Na.
