Bun Bangfai Festival.Roi-Et ,Thailand

Bun Bangfai Festival (ประเพณีบุญบั้งไฟ) (aka 'The Rocket Festival'): The festival is organised annually around June. Every district organises colourful parades of Bangfai rockets that reflect the folk culture and local traditions of Roi Et Province, especially the parades from Phanom Phrai and Suwannaphum districts will be lavishly decorated.

Bun Phawet Festival. Roi-Et ,Thailand

Bun Phawet Festival (งานประเพณีกินข้าวปุ้นบุญผะเหวด): First held in 1991, it has been held annually around early-March every year ever since. The event takes place at the Somdech Phra Srinakarindra Park and Bueng Phalan Chai. Bun Phawet, or known in the central region as Bun Mahachat, is usually held in the 4th lunar month. It is a Buddhist ceremony in which the monks give a sermon of all chapters of the Vessantara Jataka, otherwise called the Great Birth Sermon. There are also 13 parades of Phawet, according to the number of the chapters of the sermon, arranged by various public and private organisations. The area around Bueng Phalan Chai has stalls providing free "khao pun", rice noodles, for participants. There are also contests of traditional arts and culture such as making the "bai si su khwan" tray.

Noon Sawan Temple. Roi-Et ,Thailand

Noon Sa Wan Temple is not a big temple. The style and architecture is similar to the temple in abbots dream. It is located in Ban Yangdor, Tambol Thutthai, Maung Roi-Et. The temple is 18 km from Roi-Et. It is open every day and there is no entrance fee.

Biography of the abbot  Abbot of Wat Pa Noon Sa Wan. He was born on January 11, 1933.
He came from a big family. He had 4 sisters and 6 brothers. He asked for the permission of his father and mother to be a monk, when he got 19 years old. He was a novice for two years. He became a monk in 1954. Since that day, he has studied Buddhism and religious rites. He also went on pilgrimages to many different places. In order to learn more, he studied  with many famous monks about  Buddhist  miracles. He had extended his belief  by giving sacred objects to people who come to the temple. They were things such as the small flag of “Pha Yun" and others.The inspiration in building templeLong time ago, the abbot  arrived at the forest hill temple, which was in Thawatburee distict, Roi Et. The abbot  thought that the place  was good for relaxation and meditation. He then built a house at the hill as his residence. The abbot lived for many years and the villagers had faith in him. One day the abbot  was meditating in his small hut. Suddenly he saw a temple coming from the sky, above where the abbot  was sitting. The abbot thought this  was a sign and he wanted to build the temple.

DOs and DON’Ts- Dress appropriately .
- Don’t make noise.
- Don’t touch statues in the temple.- Don’t sit on the statues.

Klang Ming Mueang Temple. Roi-Et ,Thailand

Klang ming mueang temple stands far from the city hall goes to the north about a half kilometer. We arrive at Roi-Et bus- station . we have to take motorcycles. A driver takes us to Klang Ming Mueang Temple in 10 minutes. It costs us about 60 Bath. When enter  temple, we have to be clam and polite. The  weather in temple is cool and nice.The temple is compound of important sacred objects such as a main hall, the principal Buddha images, the old Chadok texts, small Buddha images, the Ming Muaeng palace, the Hor Tri, and a library. We should avoid as a taboo is entering to the church don’t step on the thresholds because it’s impolite and insult the holy things. The old people are trust in the holy. We can take a photo and ask for the information. When we finish to visit it we can walk to Sra Thong Temple because it is next to Klang Ming Mueang Temple. It takes 5 minutes on walking.

Klang Ming Mueang Temple, originally named “Wat Klang”. When they built this temple , there was not mentioned clearly. Anyhow, The North of the temple borders  Suk Kasem road, the South of the temple borders Phadung phanich road, the East of the temple borders Jaloernphanich road and, the West of the temple borders  Dumrong Radwitee road. It’s approximately 500 meters far from the center of the town.

Buddhist Temple Hall   The Buddhist Temple Hall is in the Klang Ming Mueang Temple. It was built in 1547 during  Ayuttaya period. In the Buddhist temple Hall, there is a big Buddha image called “Phaputta  Ming Mueang”. It is very famous in Roi – Et and nearby. Outside the Buddhist  temple hall there is the beautiful painting of 12 signs of the zodiac.

Phakung Temple. Roi-Et ,Thailand

57 years ago, LuengPhu Sri Mahaviroa (Phrathepwisuttimongkol) PhreAjarn Sing Khantayakamo and PhraAjarnMahaBuaYannasoomPanno were invited to live in this temple. In 1962 LuengPhu Sri Mahawiroa started to live in Ban Koa Temple (Phakung Temple). At the time, it was a deserted temple. It was very wild and old. It was 200 years old. Nobody went there, because they were afraid of ghosts and magic art. Before the temple was built, LuangPhusir invited PhraAjarn Sing Khantayakamo and PhraAjarnMahaBuaYannasoomPunno to come and see the land for building the temple. In 1984 King BhumibolAdulyadej, Queen Sirikit, Majesty Pratep and Princess Jurapon went to give an offering, especially robes to monks. After Buddnist Lent at Phrechakomwanaram Temple (PhakungTemple) they gave the private assets to the temple. On January 30, 1997, LuengPhu had a ceremony for laying the cornerstone at PhreMahaChadeeChaiMongkon, NongPhok District, Roi-Et Province; for containing the relics of the Buddha that were brought from Sri Lanka. In 2005, this Stone-Chedee was built to monument LuengPhu who turned to be 90 years old. 40 million baht was spent to build Phakung Pagoda. It sits on four Rais, which is 19 meters long and 40 meters wide. It has five floors. It is the stone-Pagoda with a golden top weighting 101 baht. Inside the Pagoda is decorated by sand-stone, granite and marble. The ceiling is made from auspicious tree. It is a unique and a fascinating place.

 Location

Phakung Temple is located in Phakung village, SrisomdetDistict, Roi-Et Province. It is 537 kilometers away from Bangkok. RoiEt is easy to visit both by airplane and buses. Take the road that passes the following cities: Bangkok, Saraburi, Korat, Ban Pai, Mahasarakam and Roi-Et. It takes 6 hours from Bangkok. Phakung Temple is an identity of RoiEt and fascinating in beauty. When you are inside the temple you should dress appropriately and keep silent. It is a free entrance. The budget for building Stone-ChadeeWatPhakung was 40 million baht. It is on four Rais which is 19 meters long and 40 meters wide. It has five floors. It is a stone-pagoda with a golden top weighting 101 baht. It was decorated by sand-stone from Amphoeparkchong, Nakornrathchasrima province. Inside the pagoda, there are sandstone, granite and marble decorations. The ceiling is built from auspicious tree. It is a unique and a fascinating place.

Ku Phra Ko Na . Roi-Et ,Thailand

Ku Phra Ko Na

Location: Amphoe Suwannaphum

Ku Phra Ko Na is comprised of 3 brick prangs built on sandstone base, lining from north to south and facing east. The wall and gates at all 4 sides was also built with sandstone.
The central prang was renovated in 1874 by plastering and making the roof into tiers. Each tier has niches of Buddha images in four directions. The front of the central prang was a ‘wihan’ of the Buddha’s footprint, decorated with the original six-headed Naga. The northern prang was covered with a ‘sala’ building providing shelter for a gable depicting the Ramayana. The lintel carving representing the reclining Vishnu remains in situ above the front entrance. The lintel of the western false door was laid on the floor; it depicts the God Vishnu on his mount Garuda. The southern prang still has lintels above the false doors.

It is assumed that Ku Phra Kona formerly had a Naga bridge and causeway lined with boundary stones on both sides from the front entrance pavilion (Gopura) to the lake (Baray), which was located about 300 metres away. All sculptural features suggest that Ku Phra Kona probably dates from the Baphoun period, or the 11th century.
Opening Hours: Daily from 08.30 am. - 04.30 pm.
Admission: FreeHow to get there: Take Highway No.215, pass Amphoe Mueang Suang, Amphoe Suwannaphum and then to Highway No.214, continue for 12 km. Ku Phra Ko Na is on the left.

Boorapaphiram Temple. Roi-Et ,Thailand

Boorapaphiram Temple was built in 1979. The It is located on 559 Phadungpanit Road, Mueng district,
Roi-Et. It was called “WatHou Raw” because in the former times, it was used as a hotel for the merchants who came to Roi-Et. They had business there at that time. There was not enough accommodation, so they had to stay at WatHou Raw. The word “Raw” means “waiting” in English, so at that time the merchants used this temple to sleep before started a new journey.

 In 1913 a abbot changed the name to Boorapaphiram Temple because this temple is located at the east part of the city. The word “Phiram” means beautiful in Thai language. It is counted as a royal temple. It has the tallest standing Buddha image in Thailand, which is ranked the fifth in the world.

 AttractionsPhraBuddharattanamongkolmahamuni or Luangphoo Toe is the tallest standing Buddha statue, 30.30 meters tall, which is connected with Roi-Et province and called symbolic of Roi-Et. Most people who visit Roi-Et come to see this huge statue.

The object of the construction:They wanted to build a place to please the Buddha and have a symbol for Roi-Et that can bring foreigners to visit Roi-Et.

Ku Ka Sing Castle. Roi-Et , Thailand

An old person in the village said, first this place was governed by Khom. The olden day governors of Khom wanted to construct the Ku (Palace). The leader of Khom asked a woman to build Kuprakhona. Then he asked a man to build Kukasing. We don’t know about the time they started building, but we know about the agreement. They be in agreement to contest, when the fixed star seen on the sky the time would be up.   So on the last day of the contest, the woman laid a plot because she wanted to be the winner. She made a lamp and she hung the lamp on a tree. The man saw the lamp and thinking of the morning, he stopped building the Ku because he thought the time was up. In the mean time, the woman hurried to build the KupraKhona and she completed the Ku. However, the man could not complete the Ku. Thus Kukasing is not complete like Kuprakhona.The construction style of Kukasing was influenced from Hinduism and Shiva. between 1007 – 1087 it was the time of Papoun art. People in this area believe that Kukasing is a holy place and it is a dwelling of Shiva. Every May they have Boon Bung fire festival, where they pray for rain.

As for the interesting annual events, there is a sound and light performance every December. This show is called Kin Kao Tung Nung Pha Mai, it means eating local food and wearing

Thai silk. If you are planning to travel to Thailand in December,

do not miss this show.

Why it is called Kukasing:There is no evidence from Khom to confirm the origin of this name.

The name Kukasing comes from Thai-Isan language. Ku is a place like

a chedi. Ka is from Garuda. The Garuda is a large mythical bird or

bird-like creature that appears in both Hindu and Buddhist mythology. Sing is from the lion statue in front of Kukasing.

Phlan Chai Lake [Pa-lan-Chai Lake] Roi-Et , Thailand.

Phlan Chai is a big pond in the center of Roi-Et province, Thailand. There is a big gate in front of “Phlan Chai”. Its name is “Sa ket Nakorn”. In the middle of the pond, there is the house of spirit of Mahesak. It is believed that there is a good spirit  there. The pond itself has been taken as the symbol of Roi-Et.

It is 512 kilometers from Bangkok and is easily connected with the capital by land and air transportation. Visitors can connect to a bus from Bangkok, Mochit 2 Bus Terminal or take an airplane, for example PB Airline to Roi-Et province.

History

100  years ago, Phlan Chai  was built by Phraya Soonthorn Thepkit Jaraksa. The old town was situated in the land of Roi-Et nowadays. It was situated at the heart of the province. A long time ago, Roi-Et  was called Sa-Kate-Na-Korn. The entrance to Roi-Et had eleven paths. In front of the lake there is a big gate. The name of the gate is Sa-Kate-Na-Korn.
According to historical and archaeological evidences, the ancients had authority to govern this place. This area was a victory field and prevented the enemies from entering in the city. Because the pond was dug in the heart of the town, people didn’t worry about  water sources. This pond was shallow until 1926. The governor of Roi-Et

Phraya Soonthoon Thepkit Jaraksa (Thong Chanthalangsu) considered this problem. He and people of Roi-Et helped together to develop it .They dug it

deeper. Took the soil to build the roads around this pond. They call it Soonthorn Thepkit Jaraksa Road. This island is beautifully decorated. It is a public garden nowadays. The south of the island has the ceremony grounds for inter a city pillar. They built a shrine on it. People believe that the spirit of Mahesak, the spiritual assurance of the townspeople lives here. At the present, in the middle of the pond, there is the house of spirit of Mahesak.

Location                Phlan Chai is located in Tambon Nai Mueang, Roi-Et, on Tewaphibal Road. It is opposite of Roi-Et hall-town. Visitor do not have to pay a fee for visiting. It is open every day between 07.00 am – 09.00 pm.

Don’t miss the shrine of “Mahesak”, it is at the house of spirit in the middle of “Phlan Chai”. It is sacred.
There is also a big statue in the shrine, where people worship Mahesak. Around the pond, there is also a beautiful park.

Phalan hill is the model of a zoo. This hill has the sculptures of animals such as a tiger, a hippopotamus, a crocodile, a deer and a monkey. This ground is a small forest. The hill has an artificial waterfall. Next to the Phalan hill there is a statue of H.R.H. Princess Phrasrinakarindra.
Phrabuddhathodorm is a statue of Buddha. It is in the middle of park. The opposite of the statue of Buddha is a playground. This playground is for children. Health Park is for exercise and an aerobic dance.
Somdech Phra Srinakarinda Park Roi Et surrounds Phalanchai in front of the town hall. This area is about  227 rai (91 acres). This urban park features a spacious  ground  where the provincial authorities hold official celebrations and the locals take their exercise. The park is adorned with flowering and ornamental plants of all kinds. Its well-kept grass lawn is shaded by trees, large and small. A refreshing foundation, which can be adjusted to great heights, provides a focus at the centre of the park may also take time off to read books in a pavilion set aside for the purpose.

Phra Maha Chedi Chai Mongkol , Roi-Et , Thailand

Phra  Maha Chedi Chai Mongkol is located in Phu Khao Kiew, Ban Tha
Sa-ard, Moo 6, Tumbon Pha Nam Yoi, Nong Phok, Roi-Et. The distance from Roi-Et is 62 kilometres. The distance from Nong Phok to Ban Thasa-ard is 9 km. When  you are in Ban Thasa-ard turn left. Phra  Maha Chedi  Chai  Mongkol is  5 kilometres from here.

It is the one of the largest Chedis (pagodas) in the country. Phra Maha Chedi Chai Mongkol has 6 floors. The Chedi is 101 metres wide, 101 metres long and 101 metres high. The Chedi was built on 101 rai (about 40 acres) piece of land. The number 101 symbolizes the name of Roi-Et province, pronounced “Roi-Et” in Thai.

The 1st floor

a large hall, elegant wall plaque sign Tanatibdi various merit a meeting with the statue of Luang Pu v Sri Maha Road founder

The 2nd floor

the grand hall as well. Wall-mounted Buddha exquisitely patterned Thailand. Used as a large conclave. Be a monk for 2000-3000.

The 3rd floor

enshrined is the faculty mentor, the East Bay is shaped like a marble in the past. I like the body shape and body Pฏipan Nova 101.

The 4th floor

Is  a museum show temple. What is the meditation that I perfected my Si. I practice the Dhamma. Outside is a panoramic view of the surround.

The 5th floor

Spiral staircase 119 step and hallway the bell 8 square to keep the Buddha relics

The 6th- 7th floor

the top-tiered pagoda bell.  Not to be.

DO and DON’Ts

-  You must take off your hat and shoes
-  You must be quiet and discard garbage in the bins
- You cannot bring pets, snacks and beverages
- You cannot use candles or joss sticks, smoke and drink
-  You cannot touch the walls or the statues

MAP