Beautiful Roi-Et

During my site visit last February, I remember not being too impressed with my city. I loved my village but I felt my province's major city did not have much to offer.

I was wrong.

True, Roi-Et isn't as exciting as Khon Kaen or Ubon (some of the more major cities of Northeastern Thailand) but what it lacks in excitement, it more than makes up for in charm. Roi-Et is certainly a charming city. Because of it's relatively small size, there is a coziness about the place and the traffic that plagues bigger cities is none existent. The people are friendly, the food is good and the streets are pretty clean.

As I've come to spend more time in it, I've found myself thankful that instead of having huge shopping malls or a variety of bars, Roi-Et instead has a good amount of wats (Thai temples) In fact, it seems one cannot walk 5 minutes in the city without seeing one.

The wats here as really beautiful too. Being in Thailand for 9 months now, I've gotten quite used to seeing these intricate buildings and the wonder they inspire in me has lessened over time. This hasn't been the case in Roi-Et though. Despite the amount of temples in the city, none of them are what I would call "typical" wats. In fact, every wat seems to have little nuances in the architecture that make them standout. One wat for instance has "guardians" with black skin. I've seen lot's of giant guardian statues in wats but I've never seen dark ones. My friend's Ej and Liz were able to take pictures of these peculiar guardian statues and when I obtain a copy, I'll be sure to post them. There is also a beautiful Chinese style wat in Roi-Et and the tiles used in the roof and walls--an almost pastel blue like color--is very different from the traditional Thai style wat.

The most popular wat however in the city would have to be the wat with the giant Buddha structure. The wat itself is pretty much like most of the wats I've seen in Thailand but beside it is the tallest standing Buddha in Northeastern thailand (some people claim that it's the tallest in all of Thailand)

There is actually a staircase where visitors can go up to the feet of the giant Buddha and I've been told that sometimes, the monks will even allow you to climb yet another staircase that takes you up to the knees of the statue where one can get a view of the entire city! I have yet to do this though it's something I hope to accomplish before my time in Roi-Et is done. When Caitlin was here, we did get to go up to the feet and the view from there was pretty impressive--not as impressive as the statue's feet though!


Another must see in Roi Et (and if anyone just meanders around for 15 minutes, one is bound to come across it) is Bung Palanchai lake. Just as Roi-Et is located in the very heart of Isan (Northeastern Thailand) this beautiful lake is in the very heart of Roi-Et. I read a travel brochure that described Bung Palanchai as being "just as beautiful as any lake in the west" While I'm not entirely sure about that statement, I must admit that I think Bung Palanchai is absolutely gorgeous and anyone who visits--be they from the west or the east--is sure to be impressed. Life in Roi-Et pretty much revolves around this lake. It's a great place for families to spend time together and for young (and old) lovers to hang out. It's a great place for sports as well. In the centre of the lake is an impressive walking Buddha statue and I've seen alot of Thai folks having picnics by it. Here are two more pictures around the lake area.