Thailand (Lonely Planet, 13th Edition) - China Williams [454]
White Elephant (0 4351 4778; Th Robmung; dishes 40-240B; dinner) This stylish place, just across the old moat, has a massive Thai menu, but the specialities are German, as is the owner. The outdoor terrace is surrounded by greenery.
Richi India Food (0 4352 0413; 37/1 Th Santisuk; dishes 50-250B; lunch & dinner) This colourful place looks more like a hair salon than a restaurant, and the food won’t wow you, but with Indian cuisine being so rare in Isan, you take what you can get. Wi-fi is free for customers.
The main night market (5pm-midnight) is a covered affair with at least one cart stir-frying at all hours of the day.
Drinking
Roi Et’s nightlife district, which features live music, large beer gardens and the obligatory coyote dancers, runs along Th Chotchaplayuk between the canal and Phetcharat Garden Hotel. Some more low-key tables for a tipple sit on the west side of the lake.
Getting There & Away
PB Air (0 4351 8572, in Bangkok 0 2261 0222; www.pbair.com) flies to/from Bangkok (one way 2740B, one hour) four days a week. There’s a ticket office at the airport, which is 13km north of town.
From Roi Et’s bus terminal (0 4351 1466; Th Jangsanit), buses head at least hourly to Yasothon (2nd/1st class 50/65B, one hour, hourly), Khon Kaen (2nd/1st class 80/99B, two hours, every 20 minutes), Surin (2nd class 98B, three hours, hourly) and Ubon Ratchathani (ordinary/1st class 82/148B, three hours). Many buses link Roi Et with Bangkok (2nd/1st class 314/403B, eight hours) including 999 VIP (0 4351 1466) with 24-seat VIP buses (627B, 7½ hours, 10.45am and 9.30pm).
The bus terminal is 1km from the city centre. Túk-túk will charge 45B to Phetcharat Garden.
AROUND ROI ET
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Ku Phra Koh Na
Sixty kilometres southeast of Roi Et town are the minor ruins of Ku Phra Koh Na (admission free; daylight hr), an 11th-century Khmer shrine. The monument comprises three brick prang facing east from a sandstone pediment surrounded by a sandstone-slab wall that once had four gates. The middle prang was replastered in 1928 and Buddha niches were added. A Buddha footprint shrine, added to the front of this prang, is adorned with the Khmer monument’s original Baphuon-style naga sculptures. The two other prang have been restored (though they still look like they might tumble over any time) but retain their original forms. The northern prang has a reclining Narai (Vishnu) lintel over one door and a Ramayana relief on the inside gable.
The ruins themselves are neither impressive nor well restored, but it’s interesting to see how they’ve been incorporated into the modern temple. And if that doesn’t thrill you, spend your time watching the hundreds of monkeys that live here.
GETTING THERE & AWAY
Any Surin-bound bus from Roi Et can drop you off at Wat Ku (45B, 1½ hours), as the compound is known locally, which is 6km south of Suwannaphum on Rte 214.
Phra Maha Chedi Chai Mongkhon
This monument in the making, sometimes called Isan Buddhist Park (admission free; 7am-6pm), is far from finished, but it’s already a sight to behold. At its heart is a gleaming white chedi rising a symbolic 101m. It’s encircled by a 101m-wide building and sits on 101 râi (16 hectares) of land. Inside is a riot of gold paint and mirrored tiles, and, depending on your tastes, it’s either beautiful or gaudy, but either way you’re sure to love it. The chedi sits atop Khao Keeo (White Mountain) and the surrounding Pha Nam Yoi Forest Park reportedly still harbours a few tigers.
The chedi is 80km northwest of Roi Et city near Nong Phok. It’s a pain to get there without your own wheels. From Roi Et take a srng·ta·ou to Phon Thong (40B, one hour, every 45 minutes) and then catch one of the Khon Kaen–Amnat Charoen buses to rà·oo Kong (Kong Gate) in Ban Tha Saat (20B, 20 minutes, 10 daily). Then it’s 5km uphill.
Hitching isn’t usually tough, or ask in one of the shops to arrange a ride: expect to pay 300B round