Ho Wot 101 (Roi Et Tower)

The number 101 comes from the province's name, "Roi Et" (one hundred and one). Thailex explains the name is thought to derive from the ancient city's 11 gates and 11 satellite towns, with "sip-et" (eleven) gradually becoming "roi-et" (one hundred and one), so the tower's 101 m height echoes the city's name.

The "eleven became 101" explanation is disputed. Phiset Chiachanphong wrote in Silpa Watthanatham (1994) that old documents spell the name in words, never as the number 101, and that no count of city gates can be verified. He suggests "Roi Et Pratu" (101 gates) in the Urangkhathat chronicle, compiled by Phraya Si Chai Chomphu at the Lan Xang court, may render the meaning of "Dvaravati" (city of gates) in the local tongue, the number expressing the greatness of a central city. Matichon (2023) likewise reports that Yutthaphong Matwiset studied ten palm-leaf Urangkhathat manuscripts from Thailand and Laos, all reading "Mueang Roi Et Paktu" or "Roi Et Pratu", while the Roi Et National Museum and Fine Arts Department seminars confirm the name is "Roi Et".

The same Matichon article outlines the city's development: a community about 2,500 years ago, an oval Dvaravati moat around 450 AD, a rounded-rectangle Khmer moat around 950 AD, abandonment from about 1250 until 1775, when Thao Thon revived the town in the Thonburi period with settlers from Vientiane and Champasak. The Urangkhathat chronicle calls it "Saket Nakhon". Bueng Phalan Chai, in front of Ho Wot, has always been the heart of the old city.

The shape comes from the wot, an Isan folk instrument made of bamboo pipes of different lengths arranged around a central stick and the province's signature instrument. Thai Wikipedia credits its development to Achan Songsak Prathumsin, named a National Artist in 2019. Inside, local motifs appear alongside modern design, such as a crystal Inthanin flower, the provincial flower.

The man who made the wot a musical instrument is Songsak Prathumsin. GotoKnow says he was born on 3 December 1955 in Nong Phok, Roi Et, taught folk music at the Roi Et College of Dramatic Arts from 1980 to 2002, and has been the wot specialist at Mahasarakham University since 2003. He turned the wot, once a buffalo-herders' children's toy, into an instrument that blends with Isan folk ensembles, and wrote songs for the bands Caravan and Carabao, such as "Khon Kap Khwai", before being named a National Artist in 2019.

The project grew from the vision of Banchong Kositchiranan, mayor of Roi Et since 28 November 1991, who set out to make Bueng Phalan Chai the city's centre. The tower is part of the Roi Et 4.0 strategy under the "Saket Nakhon tourism triangle", linking Mueang Roi Et, Thawat Buri and Nong Phok districts.

Construction began on 29 September 2017 with a budget of 341.8 million baht, which The Nation says came from the government via the Department of Local Administration, making it the costliest public city tower in the Northeast. In June 2020 The Nation reported work was over 90% complete with the 35th floor finished, and the mayor aimed to open it before the end of the year.

Thai Wikipedia gives the opening date as 21 December 2020, and Thailex says Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn inaugurated the tower. A purple path runs through the surrounding park, the colour associated with the Princess and with the Inthanin flower, lined with replicas of famous towers and buildings from around the world.

Inside, the lower floors hold offices, the entrance, souvenir shops, a café and a restaurant. From floor 28 up there are a gym and restaurants, an indoor 360-degree viewing floor (31), a flower-tunnel photo spot (32), the Roi Et city museum (33), an open-air deck with the Roi Et Sky Walk glass floor (34), and on floor 35 a shrine to Phra Phuttha Ming Mueang Mongkhon, the provincial Buddha image, and Buddha relics that MGR Online says came from Wat Ratchabophit.

Adventure activities came later. Dailynews reported that on 23 August 2025 Tourism and Sports Minister Sorawong Thienthong opened a zipline from the top of the tower across the park to the island in Bueng Phalan Chai, 350 m long, at 101 baht a ride, open to the public from 24 August 2025.

After the major Myanmar earthquake of 28 March 2025, Amarin TV reported that Roi Et governor Chatchawan Benjasirivongse inspected the tower the next morning and found no cracks or damage, though a worker on floor 34 felt it sway. The designers say the tower can sway up to 22 cm sideways by design to withstand earthquakes, and the province planned a formal legal inspection. A 2024 study by Roi Et and Udon Thani Rajabhat universities surveying 400 visitors found high levels of both expectation and satisfaction with the tower.

From the top you look down on Bueng Phalan Chai, the heart of the city. Thailex notes the lake's island holds the Roi Et city pillar shrine and a replica of the Constitution on a hexagonal base, a King Rama VI monument stands before the bridge to the island, and Wat Bueng Phra Lan Chai lies to the west.