23 October 2011

Hard Rock Hotel, Penang

We spent a lovely weekend in Penang, the Pearl of the Orient, and indeed an insland Malaysia is very lucky indeed to have.

(and word on the street is that the Federal Govt under the ruling BN coalition should treat Penang with more respect/ wisdom and give them a larger funding allocation, and not penalise them financially just because they are presently under Opposition rule!)
Anyway, back to happier non-political topics (ie. hopeless despairing topics).

We stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel this trip, our first time there. It doesn't disappoint. HRH rocks with lively music, serves good food, lots of activities, comfortable rooms, friendly and energetic hotel staffers. There are lots of music memorabilia everywhere.The kids enjoyed the hotel pool with its 3 slides, and made lots of sand castles. We had a faulty basin plug which needed to be fixed and we found the maintenance staff to be efficient and pleasant.

In my mind, one outstanding encounter was with a HRH staffer who came to deliver the keys to our 2 other rooms. After I took the key cards from him and thanked him, he looked me straight in the eye and with a very straight face uttered these very memorable words (well to me, at least, they were memorable!), "Have a rocking day!" Is that Hard Rock or what?!?

The rooms are comfortable and clean with cosy lighting that isn't too dim. Some hotels are hell-bent on not wanting you to see very well at night in your room, but the lighting in HRH was just right.

Of course there were the foam parties that are on every weekend. We didn't join in the foaming fun. I told hubby that it was free for ladies, as one staffer approached me at the pool, urging me to join the foam party. Hubby didn't think it was free as it was not stated anywhere in the hotel. "Maybe HRH lets the nice-looking women into the foam party for free to drum up attendance," hubs said. That's the kind of understated compliment one gets from the husband after 12 years of marriage!

Of couse we ate and ate! A Leng Char Koay Teow (not very nice I thought), assam laksa and char kwoay teow (Gurney Drive and Joo Hooi Cafe), chee cheong fun with prawn paste and koay teow theng (Gurney  Drive, no 88 for koay teow theng which had excellent soup), chendol (lane outside Joo Hooi Cafe), O-chien and wan tan mee (Yi Garden), nyonya food at Mama's (Lorong Abu Siti), Hokkien Food at Ang Hoay Lor (Jalan Perak). Buuurrpp!

Banned or Restricted Breeds of Dogs - Perak

We have read of tragic incidents where people have been injured or killed in dog attacks. 2 prominent incidents come to mind this year: a pitbull attack in Penang and a Rottweiler attack in Selangor. Fortunately, the latter incident was not fatal.

My family recently acquired a Rottweiler, and father-in-law was the one who gave it to us. The pup is lovely so far, just like any other pup, she is playful and cute. But of course, there is some concern regarding our safety vis-a-vis the Rottweiler. The latest Rottweiler incident does not help.

I have never owned a Rottweiler before, or any other (reputedly) ferocious breeds, and I am no dog expert. So I am not prepared to pass judgment on any breed of dog. Still, one must always be careful when dealing with animals, after all, they are animals - with their own quirks and moods, which they cannot always communicate to us, the owners.

Out of curiosity, I did a quick search on the net and found that Rotties are a breed that does cause some concern. As always, Wikipedia supplies a quick snapshot of information and Rottweilers are either outright banned or listed as a controlled type of dog in places such as Ecuador, Republic of Ireland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore and the US. Perhaps Malaysia may follow suit in banning or restricting the ownership of Rottweilers in the country.

The Perak Veterinary Services Department has the following listing:
Breeds of Dogs banned from importation
  • Pit Bull Terrier/Pit Bull (also known as American Pit Bull, American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier and Staffordshire Bull Terrier)
  • American Bulldog

  • Neapolitan Mastiff

  • Japanese Tosa
  • Akita
  • Dogo Argentino

  • Fila Braziliero

Restricted Breeds of Dogs (Importation subject to special conditions) 
  • Doberman
  • German Shepard/Alsatian
  • including Belgian Shepard and East European Shepard
  • Bull Mastiff
  • Bull Terrier
  • Perro de Presa Canario (also known as Canary Dog)