Phra Maha Chedi Mongkol Bua

Phra Maha Chedi Mongkol Bua is a gold-topped chedi rising from the middle of a pond just off Highway 214, on the Ban Bua junction outskirts of Roi Et town. It was built as a memorial to Luang Ta Maha Bua Yanasampanno of Wat Pa Ban Tat, a forest-tradition monk who led the national campaign donating gold and foreign currency to shore up Thailand’s reserves after the 1997 economic crisis. Entry is free, with no fixed visiting hours posted — most people come during the day.

Luang Ta Maha Bua personally attended the site’s groundbreaking ceremony and the placement of its Buddha relics, which locals point to as the reason this particular chedi carries his direct blessing rather than being built in his memory after the fact. The structure holds four levels reached by an internal walkway around the pond. The ground floor is set aside as a room preserving Isan folk songs, an unusual pairing of religious monument and regional music archive that reflects Luang Ta’s broader push to protect local culture alongside Buddhist practice.

Watch out: don’t confuse this with Phra Maha Chedi Chai Mongkhon, the nine-tier chedi in Roi Et’s Nong Phok district that gets most of the province’s chedi photographs online. Mongkol Bua is a different, smaller structure closer to town, and search results for “Roi Et chedi” often mix the two up.

An upper floor functions as a library holding Luang Ta’s Dharma writings and a recorded archive of his sermons going back to 1967, drawing a steady trickle of devotees rather than tour groups. The pond setting keeps the site quiet even midday, with reflections of the gold spire breaking up whenever a breeze moves across the water.

Insider Tip: Combine a stop here with central Roi Et’s older temples rather than treating it as a standalone trip — Wat Burapha Phiram and Wat Klang Ming Mueang are both a short drive into town, and Mongkol Bua’s pond setting is a quiet contrast to their busier temple grounds.

Dress modestly, as at any Thai temple — covered shoulders and knees, shoes off before stepping into the chedi’s interior spaces. Compare it with Phra Maha Chedi Chai Mongkhon if you’re deciding which of Roi Et’s two Mongkol/Mongkhon chedis to prioritise; they’re different enough in scale and character to justify visiting both if you have the time. Roi Et town itself is a short drive away for the rest of your temple-hopping.