As sunset approaches on Bang Tao Beach, the tables begin to fill. On one side, bottles of white wine emerge from ice buckets. On another, families hand slices of mango to their children. A few tables away, a group of friends laughs with the ease and familiarity that only years of knowing one another can bring, even if I cannot understand a word they are saying. The aroma of grilled prawns and seafood cooked over charcoal drifts through the warm evening air. As the sun casts a soft glow across the Andaman Sea, slowly shifting from orange to pink, I find myself paying closer attention to the people gathered along the shore.
There are children playing in the sand. A few steps away, a young man has just closed his laptop but is still checking his emails on his phone. Further down the beach, a retired couple sits quietly, watching the sun sink into the horizon. At first glance, the scene resembles a tropical holiday postcard. But after a few moments, something else becomes apparent. Many of these people are not on vacation. They live here.
This scene unfolds just outside Rava Beach Club, set on a privileged stretch of Bang Tao Beach. Described as Thailand’s largest and longest private beach club, Rava initially appears to be a beautifully designed seaside destination. Yet as the evening progresses, it becomes clear that it is far more than a place for cocktails and sunset drinks. It is where people meet, where children make friends, where long lunches effortlessly turn into dinners and where familiar faces reconnect. It is, in many ways, a social living room by the sea.
Sometimes, what makes a city truly livable is not its skyline, its infrastructure, or even its property prices. Instead, it is the way its tables are set at sunset—whether people seem rushed or relaxed, how long conversations linger after a meal, how many languages are spoken around a single plate of fish, and how safely children play on the beach while their parents relax over dinner. The strongest clues about a place often reveal themselves through these seemingly small details, and no scene captures Phuket’s transformation more perfectly than this.
The island is no longer merely an exotic destination for a few days of escape. It is becoming a place where people from around the world are choosing to build a second life. They are not simply looking for a house with a sea view. They are looking for a way of living. A place where they can take a morning walk, eat well, raise their children in safety, remain close to nature and feel part of a community. Perhaps this is where Phuket’s new definition of luxury truly lies.
One of the clearest expressions of this transformation is Laguna Phuket. What began thirty five years ago as an ambitious resort development has evolved into an international residential community spanning more than 4,000 acres. Today it encompasses six hotels, wellness facilities, restaurants and entertainment venues, a championship golf course and more than 3,000 branded residences. Home to residents from over seventy nationalities, Laguna is no longer simply a property development. It functions more like a small town with its own rhythm, social fabric and daily rituals.
When you look at some of the world’s most livable cities, an interesting pattern emerges. Copenhagen, San Sebastián, Singapore, Melbourne and Lisbon all share one important characteristic. They are cities with strong food cultures. Because good food is never only about taste. It shapes the rhythm of daily life, the way people socialize and ultimately the way they develop a sense of belonging. This is precisely why Phuket stands apart.
Recognized by UNESCO as a City of Gastronomy, the island possesses one of Southeast Asia’s richest culinary heritages. The cuisine here has a character distinct even from the rest of Thailand. For centuries, Chinese traders, Malay communities, Muslim seafarers and Thai culture converged on this island. The result is not a single culinary tradition but a table layered with histories, influences and memories from many different worlds.
On a typical morning, you can wander through local markets filled with coconuts, mangosteens, pomelos and countless tropical fruits. A few hours later, you might find yourself enjoying seafood prepared with lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and fresh ginger in an elegant restaurant. By evening, you could be standing at a street stall eating freshly wok fried Hokkien noodles, yellow curry, or seafood cooked over glowing charcoal.
The abundance of the Andaman Sea is one of the island’s greatest advantages. Prawns, crabs, lobsters, squid and fish caught only hours earlier are not considered luxuries here. They are simply part of everyday life. Perhaps this is Phuket’s greatest luxury.
In many major cities around the world, people make considerable efforts to find truly fresh seafood. Here, the catch of the day can be on your table within minutes. Tropical fruits, aromatic herbs and exceptional seafood are not reserved for special occasions. They are accessible parts of daily life.
People often struggle to explain why they fall in love with a place. Yet a large part of the answer is usually found around the table. Because human beings tend to put down roots more easily where they can eat well.
The lifestyle that Phuket, and particularly Laguna, offers is built around this very idea. A walk along the beach in the morning. A long lunch by the sea. An evening spent sharing a table with people from different countries and backgrounds. Here, gastronomy is not an accessory to luxury. It is the essence of everyday life.
This philosophy also helps explain Laguna’s success. The boundaries between holiday and daily living have almost disappeared. You can take a walk around the lakes and reach Bang Tao Beach within minutes, spend the afternoon at a wellness centre and end the day around a long table with friends at one of the many restaurants serving cuisines from around the world. The presence of international schools, including the British School and high-quality health care facilities further strengthens its appeal for families of every generation.
Far from the traffic and constant time pressures of major cities, life here moves at a slower and more comfortable pace. Perhaps this is the greatest luxury of our time. Time itself. People are no longer buying square metres. They are buying time to spend with the people they love. This is also where the vision of Banyan Group, the developer behind Laguna, becomes particularly interesting. Ranked among the world’s top five branded residential developers and number one in Asia, the group is not merely creating homes. It is designing holistic living environments where wellness, gastronomy, nature and community exist side by side. Its plans to invest approximately one billion dollars in new residential developments in Phuket over the coming years reflect a strong belief in the island’s long-term future.
From a Turkish perspective, the picture is equally compelling. The number of Turkish visitors travelling to Thailand increased by 50 percent in a single year, surpassing 100,000. With direct flights between Istanbul and Phuket and Thailand’s long-term residency programmes gaining attention, interest in the island is expected to continue growing in the years ahead.
As the sun slowly disappears into the Andaman Sea and you watch people from different parts of the world sharing a meal around the same table, you begin to understand why Phuket is increasingly becoming a second home for so many.
Some places are visited. In other places, almost without realizing it, you begin to live. That, perhaps, is the story Phuket is telling today.
