Aranyaprathet (city)
Aranyaprathet ( Thai เทศบาล เมือง อรัญ ญประเทศ , pronounced thesa ban müang aranyaprathet ) is a city in the district of the same name in the Thai province of Sa Kaeo and serves as the administrative center of the district. Due to her status as a thesaban , she enjoys a certain autonomy and takes on tasks that the tambon (sub-district) actually performs. The urban area covers the entire area of the sub-district. Aranyaprathet lies directly on the border with Cambodia and is an important border crossing to Poipet . In 2018, Aranyaprathet had 17,355 inhabitants according to statistics from the Thai government.
Aranyaprathet is the terminus of the east line of the Thai national railway and has an important bus station for intercity buses. The place is especially popular among Thais as there are casinos in Poipet. Gambling is officially prohibited in Thailand. Many foreigners without a permanent right of residence also use the border crossing to renew their visas (Thailand issues visas with multiple entries). From Poipet there is a rail link to Siem Reap and Phnom Penh , and this is popular with tourists. There has been a rail link between Aranyaprathet and Poipet since April 2019. Before that, the border had to be crossed by taxi or on foot and then take a taxi to the train station in Poipet.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Aranyaprathet was an important transshipment point for the delivery of food to the numerous refugee camps in the Thai-Cambodian border area. Many aid organizations had a presence in the city.