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, althou ...

on the Cambodian- Thai

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 ca ...

, 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 ele ...

is popular, but illegal in Thailand. Poipet is adjacent to the town of Aranyaprathet 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.

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 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, 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 enterta ...

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 ...

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