/ reasons to travel now /
20 APRIL 2018 / TRAVELANDLEISUREASIA.COM
FROM LEFT: COURTESY OF STRAITS CLAN; COURTESY OF GOOGLEno. 2
Become part of the clan at Singapore’s
next-generation private club.
New to Singapore, where both socializing and doing business usually involve
food, is Straits Clan (straitsclan.com), a members’ club that draws inspiration
from the clan associations that proliferated for generations in its surrounding
neighborhood. But visitors are welcome to a peek behind the private curtain.
Having repurposed the former boutique New Majestic Hotel, the stylish,
throwback club permits non-members to use its Clan Café on street level,
where tea and basic Hakka-inspired dishes are available. Visit Singapore
often? Then purchase a membership—a S$2,000 joining fee and a S$
monthly fee—to gain access to the rest of the club. With that door open, you
can use the dining room along Bukit Pasoh Road. One level up is a bar and
alfresco area for drinks and food, while the top floor is home to a small gym
that offers fitness classes; a spa with foot reflexology and head, neck and
shoulder treatments; and an inviting reading lounge.
no. 3
Google’s new
earbuds are a
game changer
for travelers.
Instant translation may
sound like a futuristic
fantasy, but technology is
already making it a reality.
The most advanced
contender: the new Google
Pixel Buds (available from
Singtel stores in Singapore;
singtel.com; S$238), a
wireless headphone set
designed to offer—among
other things—advanced
in-ear translation of a
foreign speaker. The two
earpieces can be paired
with the Google Pixel
smartphone to
communicate easily with
people around the world,
whether they speak Thai,
Mandarin, Indonesian,
Japanese, Korean, or any of
the other 40 supported
languages. While one
person wears the earbuds,
the other speaks into the
smartphone. A translation
is immediately streamed
to the listener. Although
the technology is far from
perfect—the translation is
not always spot-on, and
noisy environments will
challenge the
microphone—the
language gap has never
felt easier to bridge.
— JESSICA PLAUTZArt abounds at Straits
Clan’s lobby and lounge.