Poipet ( km, ប៉ោយប៉ែត, ) is a
boomtown
A boomtown is a community that undergoes sudden and rapid population and economic growth, or that is started from scratch. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, although ...
on the
Cambodian
Cambodian usually refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Cambodia
** Cambodian people (or Khmer people)
** Cambodian language (or Khmer language)
** For citizens and nationals of Cambodia, see Demographics of Cambodia
** Fo ...
-
Thai
Thai or THAI may refer to:
* Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia
** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand
** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand
*** Thai script
*** Thai (Unicode block ...
border
Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...
, in
Poipet Municipality,
Banteay Meanchey Province. It is a key crossing point between the two countries, and also extremely popular as a
gambling destination as
gambling
Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...
is popular, but illegal in Thailand.
Poipet is adjacent to the town of
Aranyaprathet
Aranyaprathet (Thai: อรัญประเทศ) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in Sa Kaeo province in eastern Thailand . It covers the entire ''tambon'' of Aranyaprathet, in Aranyaprathet district. As of 2005, the town has 16,937 inhabitant ...
on the Thai side of the border, the town came into existence only quite recently for the express purpose of border trade, Sisophon had always been the primary urban center in what had been an agricultural area. Poipet's population has increased from 43,366 in the 1998 census to 89,549 in the 2008 census, making it the 4th most populous settlement in Cambodia just ahead of
Sihanoukville and larger than its provincial capital
Sisophon
Serei Saophoan ( km, សិរីសោភ័ណ, Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN, UNGEGN: ; lit. 'Beautiful Freedom') is the capital and largest city of the Banteay Meanchey Province and the fourth most populous city in Cambodia. The city sep ...
.
Transport
The Poipet border is a terminus of the
Cambodia railway system, though in 2006 restoring of a link from Poipet to the present Cambodian Railways railhead at
Sisophon
Serei Saophoan ( km, សិរីសោភ័ណ, Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN, UNGEGN: ; lit. 'Beautiful Freedom') is the capital and largest city of the Banteay Meanchey Province and the fourth most populous city in Cambodia. The city sep ...
was proposed. In the fall of 2008, an agreement was prepared to have an Australian company carry out this work.
Ailing railway set for upgrade.
The Phnom Penh Post
''The Phnom Penh Post'' ( km, ភ្នំពេញប៉ុស្តិ៍, ) is a daily English-language newspaper published in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Founded in 1992 by publisher Michael Hayes and Kathleen O'Keefe, it is Cambodia's oldest En ...
, Wednesday, 29 October 2008. In 2009, Thailand passed legislation to build extend the railway from Aranyaprathet to Poipet, and in 2018 the railway line has been reactivated.
Casinos in the city
There is a strip of casino
A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...
s and hotels between the Cambodian and Thai passport control counters, enabling Thais and other foreigners to gamble in Cambodia without needing to go through Cambodian immigration. In Cambodia, gambling is illegal for Cambodian citizens but not for holders of foreign passports. There is another border on the Cambodian side of this strip area that one needs to pass before being free to travel within the rest of the country.
Gallery
Image:Border crossing cambodia.jpg, Poipet border crossing into Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
Image:Khmerevening.JPG, Poipet during sunset
Image:Poipet..JPG, Casino and street scape
References
{{coord, 13, 39, N, 102, 34, E, region:KH_type:city, display=title
Cities in Cambodia
Ou Chrov District
Cambodia–Thailand border crossings
Populated places in Banteay Meanchey province
Territorial disputes of Cambodia
Territorial disputes of Thailand