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Poipet

geography Maturity 5-7 Next article →

Poipet is a busy city in Cambodia. It sits in the Banteay Meanchey province. The city is very close to the border of Thailand. It sits right next to a Thai town called Aranyaprathet. This place is a key spot for trading goods between the two countries. It acts like a gateway for people moving back and forth. The city is part of a large area used for moving things across land.

Many people visit Poipet for its casinos. These are large buildings where people play games. In Cambodia, gambling is illegal for local citizens. However, people with foreign passports are allowed to play. There is a strip of hotels and casinos between the border counters. This allows some foreigners to gamble without going through all the immigration steps. You must pass another border to travel into the rest of Cambodia.

Poipet has changed a lot over time. Before, the area was mostly used for farming. The nearby town of Sisophon was the main center for people. Poipet was created recently to help with border trade. It has grown very quickly in recent years. In 1998, there were 43,366 people living there. By 2008, the population grew to 89,549 people. This makes it the fourth largest settlement in Cambodia.

Many different people live and work in the city. You can find many Indonesians working in the casinos. They also work as admins for online gambling. Because of them, you can find many Indonesian food stalls. There are also about 8,000 Chinese people living there. Thai citizens can also be found in the city. This mix of people makes the city feel very international.

Trains are an important way to reach Poipet. It is the end of the Cambodia railway system. In 2018, a rail line was reactivated to connect the cities. Thailand also passed laws to extend its tracks to Poipet. In 2022, leaders said they are studying high-speed railways. These new trains might connect Phnom Penh to the Thai border. This would make travel much faster for everyone.

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