Aranyaprathet district

Aranyaprathet อรัญประเทศ
District
Boundary at Aranyaprathet
District location in Sa Kaeo province
Coordinates: 13°42′3″N 102°30′42″E / 13.70083°N 102.51167°E / 13.70083; 102.51167
Country	Thailand
Province	Sa Kaeo
Seat	Ban Mai Nong Sai
Area
• Total	821.265 km^2 (317.092 sq mi)
Population  (2024)
• Total	93,451
• Density	101.3/km^2 (262/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+7 (ICT)
Geocode	2706

Aranyaprathet (Thai: อรัญประเทศ, pronounced [ʔā.rān.já.prā.tʰêːt]) is a district (amphoe) in Sa Kaeo province in Thailand. It borders Cambodia to the east and the busiest border crossing between Cambodia and Thailand is located in this district. The largest town in the district is also called Aranyaprathet.

History

The ancient town of Mueang Phai, which gives its name to one of the district's subdistricts, is one of four central towns in a survey of fifteen moated sites of eastern Thailand by Patcharaporn Ngernkerd and colleagues, measuring 1.28 km² within its moat.^[1]: 9 A temple, Prasat Muang Phai, stands inside the moat, and the town lies at the eastern end of the overland route their least-cost analysis reconstructs from Si Mahosot in Prachin Buri.^{[1]: 9, 13} Dvaravati material, including a dharmachakra and Buddhist sculpture, has been reported from the district.^[1]: 10 Prasat Kao Noi in the same district yielded the inscription K. 506 of 637.^[1]: 7 Paul Lavy and Wesley Clarke hold that the ground around that hill, together with Mueang Phai, probably corresponds to the polity the inscriptions call Jyeṣṭhapura.^[2]: 50

In modern times Aranyaprathet was a district of Kabin Buri Province. On 1 April 1926 the province was abolished and the two districts Mueang Kabin Buri and Aranyapathet became districts of Prachinburi province.^[3] In 1993 it was one of the districts that formed the new Sa Kaeo province.

Economy

Border (railway) station Ban Klong Luk

Opening of border station (2019)

Until the Khmer Rouge disrupted neighbouring Cambodia in 1975, Aranyaprathet was a stop on the railroad connecting Bangkok with the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh. Aranyaprathet maintains its rail link with Bangkok but Poipet, the neighbouring Cambodian town, has still yet to see any rail activity since the Khmer Rouge destroyed the track.

Six kilometres southeast of Aranyaprathet town, at Ban Klong Luk (also spelled Ban Khlong Luek), is the busiest border crossing between Cambodia and Thailand. In addition to being on a major trade route, the border sees much tourist activity as it is on the road between Bangkok and Siem Reap, the town nearest Angkor Wat.

Aran, as the town is known in Thailand, has been affected by the growth of the gambling industry in Poipet. Despite gambling being illegal in both Thailand and Cambodia, the Cambodian government has granted concessions for casinos to be built at many of its land crossings. Cambodians are not permitted to gamble in the casinos. Poipet's proximity to Bangkok (3-5 hrs by road) has made it the most popular of these border casino areas. It now hosts seven casinos.^{[citation needed]}

Administration

Aranyaprathet is divided into 13 sub-districts (tambons), which are further subdivided into 114 administrative villages (mubans).

No.	Name	Thai	Villages	Pop.[4]
01.	Aranyaprathet	อรัญประเทศ	-	16,211
02.	Mueang Phai	เมืองไผ่	08	04,307
03.	Han Sai	หันทราย	10	05,644
04.	Khlong Nam Sai	คลองน้ำใส	12	05,432
05.	Tha Kham	ท่าข้าม	11	04,845
06.	Pa Rai	ป่าไร่	09	06,338
07.	Thap Phrik	ทับพริก	07	03,658
08.	Ban Mai Nong Sai	บ้านใหม่หนองไทร	08	09,634
09.	Phan Suek	ผ่านศึก	13	06,592
10.	Nong Sang	หนองสังข์	08	07,009
11.	Khlong Thap Chan	คลองทับจันทร์	10	04,713
12.	Fak Huai	ฟากห้วย	11	06,940
13.	Ban Dan	บ้านด่าน	07	04,780

Stadium

Aranyaprathet District Stadium

Interactive map of Aranyaprathet District Stadium
Location	Aranyaprathet, Sa Kaeo, Thailand
Coordinates	13°41′46″N 102°30′36″E / 13.695975°N 102.509929°E / 13.695975; 102.509929
Surface	Grass
Tenant
Sa Kaeo F.C. 2010

Aranyaprathet District Stadium (Thai: สนามกีฬาอำเภออรัญประเทศ สวนกาญจนาภิเษก) is a multi-purpose stadium used mostly for football matches and was the home stadium of Sa Kaeo F.C.^{[citation needed]}

Notable people

• Kwanchai Fuangprakob: Footballer.
• Tara Tipa: Model and actor.
• Phloen Phromdaen: Luk Thung singer, 2012 National Artist winner.

References

1. Ngernkerd, Patcharaporn; Shoocongdej, Rasmi; Khunsong, Saritpong (2025). "Political boundary between Dvaravati and Ancient Khmer kingdoms: The recognition of ancient frontier networks in Eastern Thailand before the 11th century CE" (PDF). Archaeological Research in Asia. 43. doi:10.1016/j.ara.2025.100647.
2. Lavy, Paul A.; Clarke, Wesley (2015). "Integrating the Phong Tuek Viṣṇu: The Archaeology and Art History of a Forgotten Image". Journal of the Siam Society. 103.
3. ประกาศ เรื่อง ยุบจังหวัดกบินทร์บุรีลงเป็นอำเภอขึ้นจังหวัดปราจีน (PDF). Royal Gazette (in Thai). 42 (ก): 430–431. March 31, 1926. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 4, 2012.
4. "Population statistics 2014" (in Thai). Department of Provincial Administration. Retrieved 2015-05-11.