Amphoe Bo Rai
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Bo Rai บ่อไร่ |
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|---|---|
| Amphoe | |
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 Amphoe location in Trat Province |
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| Coordinates: 12°34′47″N 102°31′30″E / 12.57972°N 102.52500°ECoordinates: 12°34′47″N 102°31′30″E / 12.57972°N 102.52500°E | |
| Country | Thailand |
| Province | Trat |
| Seat | Bo Phloi |
| Area | |
| • Total | 680.0 km2 (262.5 sq mi) |
| Population (2000) | |
| • Total | 39,736 |
| • Density | 58.4/km2 (151/sq mi) |
| Time zone | ICT (UTC+7) |
| Postal code | 23140 |
| Geocode | 2304 |
Bo Rai (Thai: บ่อไร่, pronounced [bɔ̀ː râj]) is a township and district (amphoe) in Trat Province, eastern Thailand, in close vicinity to the Cambodian Khao Banthat Mountain Range. Neighboring districts are Mueang Trat and Khao Saming to the south, Khlung of Chanthaburi Province to the west, Pong Nam Ron of Chanthaburi to the north, and Battambang of Cambodia to the north and east.
Amphoe Bo Rai is divided into five sub-districts (tambon), which are further subdivided into 34 villages (muban). The central town is Bo Phloi, which has township status (thesaban tambon) and covers parts of the same-named tambon. As of 2005, the population in the township is 10,009. Each of the tambons is administrated by a tambon administrative organization (TAO).
The area is renowned for its gemstone mining (rubies and sapphires) and gem trade which made Bo Rai prosper and grow. From the 1960s until the beginning of the 1990s the town experienced an economic boom, which was ended almost overnight with the exhaustion of the mining fields through plundering. The economic depression that followed was further increased by the downfall of the Khmer Rouge and the subsequent end of the border trafficking of goods and gems.
Once the centre of Thailand's gem trade, Bo Rai is now but a shadow of its former glory, yet some hope is seen in the migrating refugees coming from the troubled south. There have been attempts at economic conversion, such as the cultivation of rubber trees. There are rumours of a new Thai-Cambodian border crossing being opened in the near future, a thing welcomed and hoped for by the local population.
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Wikipedia