The Jeddah Weekend (2 of 3)

The first thing I did when we woke up on a glorious Thursday morning in Jeddah is to look in our window to see the lagoon. I've been itching to do this the moment we arrived in our room at the Red Sea Palace Hotel but of course, I couldn't see anything at 9 in the evening, or all of the evening for that matter. The view is not that breathtaking but it's enough to make me happy. We don't have this in Riyadh. We may have wadis (rivers) but they're dry for the most part of the year and they're far from the city center. I took photos of our view immediately.

A panoramic shot via iPhone

A peaceful lagoon

8:00AM Starting The Day Right

After preparing for a full day ahead, we went down to the hotel brassierie (Al Bouhaira Restaurant) for a quick breakfast. We chose a spot near the glass walls overlooking a pocket garden. There were lots of bread in the buffet but few viands. I enjoyed the freshly cooked omelet.

Breakfast is ready!

Where's the fried rice?! Diet ateh?

Freshly-fried omelet

Our first agenda for the day is to buy abayas. We know, you might be wondering... "Bakit sa Jeddah pa? Ang dami naman sa Riyadh!" (Why buy in Jeddah? There are many in Riyadh!) It piqued my curiosity too when I first heard Filipinas going to Jeddah whose main purpose in going there is to buy abayas. They said that Jeddah's abayas are cheaper and their designs and styles are different from the other parts of Saudi Arabia. Since they're less conservative and more tolerant, their abaya designs and styles are quirky and fun: more embellishments, colors, and drapes. Of course, black is still the overall color.

Free wifi at the lobby while deciding where to go next

9:30AM Abaya Hunting in Bawadi Souk

We were supposed to be driven around by a Filipino taxi driver that was suggested to us but he claimed over the phone that we can just go to the nearby Balad Commercial Center and be done with it. I had to disagree because I know Eyecandy, who was in Jeddah two weeks before we did, said that the popular abaya souk was quite a drive from the center. R and I decided to hail a cab outside the hotel and asked the driver to take us to "Badawi souk", as E mentioned. He eyed us curiously and asked, "Badu souk?!" "No, Badawi souk!," we chimed in. Our driver is a Yemeni who has a friendly face and mild demeanor. He proceeded in telling us, in his halting English, that the abayas in the nearby Badu souk is not worth it. If we want, he'll take us to Bawadi souk a few kilometers away from Balad. And that's when it hit us that it was indeed "Bawadi" instead of "Badawi." Haha.

Hey, we have this mini bus in Riyadh too! 

On the way to Bawadi, our driver (Maher) got to talking. He asked where we came from and when he heard "Riyadh," he immediately tsk tsked and said "Riyadh mushkila, Riyadh mushkila!" over and over. Without even an explanation, we already understood his thoughts and sentiments. Anyway, he was nice enough to slow down at roundabouts so we can see and take photos of Jeddah's famous street installations.

Larger than life bicycle

Is this science-related? Hehe.

These sculptures make Jeddah one of the biggest open-air art galleries in the world. Their roundabout pieces are bigger than those in Al-Khobar.

Morning is not the best time to visit Bawadi. The street sellers who sell their abayas at cheaper prices were not yet around. Only the air-conditioned stores were open and their abayas are priced like the ones in Riyadh. But since we're already there and there were few people around (which makes shopping easier), we can't back away now can't we? 

An area of the Bawadi center

Lots of abaya on window displays

We chose to pick abayas with unique designs instead. We're very particular with the fabric. We want the thick kind that doesn't need to be ironed. Interestingly, I went for the still conservative almost all-black type knowing that I (and my friends whom I'm buying these for) will be wearing them in Riyadh. The quirk I mostly got was from the stones and beads and the newest style that hugs the waist slightly. I got a onesie (like a dress that doesn't need to be buttoned or zipped) that has a glittery design on the chest and I got my mom an abaya embellished with little rosettes. R bought a few more than I did.

Oh what to choose?!

Embroidery galore!

For The PINK Tarha! :P

12:00NN Eating The Famous Chicken

Maher waited for us and took us back to the center after an hour or so. He egged us to go and try Al-Baik, the infamous broasted chicken of Jeddah. R and I saw this as a wonderful opportunity to eat the chicken hot off the broiler in the comfort of our hotel room. He took us to the Balad branch.

Finally!

After getting our lunch of crispy, hot Al-Baik chicken, we went back to the hotel for lunch. After packing the black robes away, we took our seats near the window and ate!

What a perfect location to have lunch!

Yuuuuum!

The aroma coming off our order of Al-Baik was heavenly; it covered the entire room in minutes. Al-Baik has a distinct taste that is coming from the red orange tint in the chicken meat. The skin is crispy and it went well with the fries and bun. I love it piping hot! Okay, I know I'll probably be heckled (please don't throw stones at me) if I say that I didn't find Al-Baik outrageously delicious. It is delicious, yes, but I can live in Riyadh without it (come to think of it, we're living in Riyadh without it). There are many broasted chicken in Riyadh that are quite good too. But anyway, we enjoyed our Al-Baik meal and saved some for dinner. R and I were contemplating if we ought to bring back Al-Baik for our families and friends in Riyadh.

2:00PM Mall of Arabia

After a bit of rest, we called Maher again and asked him to take us to Mall of Arabia for the only store we came here for: Forever 21. Hahaha. The design of the mall is beautiful and the interior is spacious and airy. We immediately went to Forever 21 and got lost in all the cute, affordable clothes. Excuse us for a while...

Mall of Arabia!!!

Love the wide, airy space great for events

Levels of stores

An indecisive me among accessories in Forever 21.

The only sale sign we saw is from H&M

With our plastic bags of clothes from Forever 21, we roamed Mall of Arabia and found this gem of a bakery cafe on the upper floor. It's called Chapter. The display of cakes and large macaroons is beguiling. We settled for slices of red velvet cake and rainbow cake.

Macaroons from Chapter Bakeshop

Huuge macaroons

Love our colorful slices

Then we saw the entertainment center from above and it was so much fun watching the kids ride the rides that R and I were afraid of trying. Haha.

A water ride inside the mall? Amazing!

We settled for a quick snack at the Tonino Lamborghini Cafe. There is a branch of this cafe in Panorama Mall in Riyadh and we haven't tried it. We were just enticed with the location of this cafe. It's perfect for an afternoon coffee. We can see the roads outside and the soft afternoon sun rays flooded the clean floors. I went for a dark chocolate frappe while R ordered a latte. We added a plate of pasta with white sauce and took bites of our cakes after.

Great location!

Wonder if the service here is fast. :)

The view from where we're sitting.

Perfect for sipping on a hot afternoon

Cheesy and creamy merienda

6:00PM Corniche Road In A Flash

Maher came back for us around 6 in the evening. On our way back to the hotel, he chose to pass at the corniche road so we can see that area. We passed by a few known Jeddah spots like the floating mosque and the dazzling hotel lane by the Red Sea but we didn't stop and took photos. We just enjoyed the scenery and it was really fun seeing families gathered at the shore having picnics. So laidback!

We stopped on the side of the road to take photos of the King's Fountain. It was too far from where we were at but that's okay. This fountain is best admired from afar anyways. It's the biggest seawater fountain in the world.

Jeddah's pride

8:00PM Too Early for Curfew

Deep inside I know that we're too early to be back at the hotel. I mean, we shop until the wee hours of the morning during Ramadan for goodness' sake! So what are we doing holed in our hotel room at 8pm?! Haha. Well, good thing, our blogging friend Mr. Kenji of Thoughtskoto saved us. He and his wife, Sheila, called to say that Mr. NJ of DesertAquaForce, another friend from the blogging world, will come to pick us up for dinner. And thank goodness, he did!

10:00PM Crossing The Border

He and his friend, Mr. Jun, drove us to On The Border, a Mexican-themed restaurant that is not found in Riyadh. Kenji, his beautiful wfe Sheila and their adorable kids Hevyn and Galei, followed after a few minutes. The Solis family gave us a lovely bag with some cosmetic products and perfume (thank you very, very much!). I ordered salmon; the first time in years that I picked fish over meat in a steakhouse. R went for the tacos. 

Hand me some watermelon margaritas!

Salmon+mashed potatoes+beans

I first personally met them in the Philippine Expat Blog Awards 2009 ceremony in Manila where The Pink Tarha won our first award (ahhh memories...). They were friendly and kind people. It's a pleasure to be seeing them in their turf this time. I admire these men's passion for their family, career, and advocacies. We talked about PEBA, OFW issues, and the differences among Al-Khobar, Jeddah, and Riyadh. The Thoughtskoto family, as they're fondly called, lived in Al-Khobar for a few years before settling in Jeddah. NJ is based in Al-Laith and he told us he's a little bit scared every time he had to go to Riyadh for some business matters. We're not surprised that they have reservations about Riyadh (heck, all expats do, haha!) but we promise that when they'll be in the city, we'll show them what makes Riyadh nice on its own (wow, ambassadresses to Riyadh lang ang peg ng Pink Tarha ladies?! Lol.)

Photo from Kenji

We decided to go home around 12 midnight... but not without Mr. NJ's nice surprise. He gave us a huge white styro box that weighs a ton (ah, kilos pala, hehe). We had an idea what's inside because we know the nature of his work but I was still surprised when I opened it at home (more on this on the third entry). Thank you very much to the Solis family and Mr. NJ Abad for the lovely evening in Jeddah.

Our third and last day in Jeddah is up next! :)


Sundrenched

Honeysuckle and Inferi

Remember our series of Collage Week? Yeah, we neither. It's been such a long time since we published a Collage Week entry that we'd like to make bawi today.

Two months ago, the Pink Tarha ladies (still with M as the fourth tarha) decided to hold a photo shoot just because we couldn't find a recent photo where all Pink Tarha ladies were present.  Every complete photo we had was outdated. M canceled at the last minute to attend to more important matters that's why Shoegarfreeruby, Eyecandy and I were the only ones who made it to the photo shoot day. The three of us became super multi-taskers. We took the roles of stylist, make-up artist, set designer, and photographer. OMG, the chaos! Lol. But we did pull it off to produce some unexpected results. We chose three themes: black, pink, and red. We've already featured the red photos as a Valentine's greeting entry. Here are the photos from the pink and black sets.

The HONEYSUCKLE

Naturally, we picked a pink theme because we're the PINK tarha! Ingenious, right? Hahaha. Are you familiar with pegs? These are photos from fashion websites or magazines that serve as inspiration in a photo shoot. We researched for styles and looks and came up with the following description for what we should look like in the pink set which we named, "Honeysuckle," in honor of the color of the year and our planned color for the blog (which is now in effect).

Vibrant, fresh, and fun!

When you're wearing light-colored pieces, go for outerwear like cardigans, shawls, and jackets to hide whatever you want to hide. If you're feeling fearless like E here, go bare and bear it!

Eyecandy and Sundrenched: Solid and prints!

Eyecandy and Shoegarfreeruby: Solid states!

On Eyecandy: Pink satin dress COAST (on sale for 199SR from 499SR) | Nude pumps MILANO | Floral necklace ACCESSORIZE | Leopard scarf ALDO
On Sundrenched: Patterned silk handkerchief dress STRADIVARIUS (only SR29!) | Purple pointed shoes NEW LOOK | Shawl PARFOIS | Necklace NEW LOOK
On Shoegarfreeruby: Dress TOPSHOP | Coat H&M | Shoes MINNA PARIKKA | Stockings, belt, necklace NEW LOOK | Headband FOREVER 21 | Earrings SM |

The INFERI

The black ensemble is a peg we named "Inferi" just to bring out the other side of the Pink Tarha.  It's an "all-black, harsh winter." (Echos lang, haha!) During the shoot, it was still cold in Saudi Arabia so "winter" came to mind.

Mga kabowgera! :P

The number one tip for plus-size ladies? Go black! It's a fail-proof way to dress up or down. It's classic, elegant, and timeless. Sometimes it gets boring (especially for us who wear the black abaya everyday!) but what are your accessories for? Pile on the bling!

Black is back!

Layered dresses and sky-high shoes

On Shoegarfreeruby: Black dress MISS SELFRIDGE | Shoes JEFFREY CAMPBELL | Socks H&M | Headband FOREVER 21 | Cameo earrings SOUVENIR SHOP (Dumaguete) | Bracelet MISS SELFRIDGE
On Eyecandy: Black tulle-tiered dress MOONSOON (on sale for SR180 from SR520) | Gold stud gladiator heels NEW LOOK | Gray cheetah blazer RED HERRING | Feather headband UK (gift) | Chunky charm necklace NEW LOOK
On Sundrenched: Black dress NEW LOOK | Black cardigan H&M | Navy lacey wedge NEW LOOK | Necklace PARFOIS | Headband FOREVER 21

Remember ladies, have one beloved LBD in your closet!

As you can see, we come in big sizes (ranging from UK 12-18). Well, project na lang ng project! Haha. Confidence lang yan! Lol. When it comes to body issues and insecurities, we have a lot. (Sino ba ang wala?!) But you will not see us obsessing about these insecurities. Of course, we try our best (operative word: try!) to reduce weight for health reasons but for now, we work on what we have and hopefully, we show you ladies that outer beauty can only do so much. You don't really read us because we're sexy or we fit the mainstream idea of "beauty", right? So there you go. Love your bodies and work it! Go, go, go!

It also helped that we were so hands-on in this little shoot of ours. We know each other's style and because we're friends, wala na kaming hiya sa isa't isa! Haha. Sa sobrang hands-on namin, kami na lahat ang gumawa! :P If you want to stage your own photo shoot with your friends, make the Pink Tarha ladies your consultant. We can help you with your themes, wardrobe, make-up, and well, a little bit of photography. LOL. Jk.

Up next is the collage with our newest member, Sampaguita Pride!

Yes, we did a repeat performance of the chaos that is a Pink Tarha shoot! Lol.

Winter in South East Asia

How are you enjoying your winter?

The other Pink Tarha ladies have posted the photos of their winter essentials. Don't you just love their cute and gorgeous stuff? I wish I can wear 'em here in Manila! Haha! I doubt if I can fit in Maryhadalittlehump's knitted wear though. Hehe.

While I am not experiencing Riyadh's brrr days right now, I had the chance to experience winter in another country! And I wore my winter essentials. Mabuti na lang may practice na ako ng 'winter' sa Riyadh, kung hindi, I'll probably stuck with just long sleeved cotton blouses for this trip. Before Saudi Arabia, I can't imagine a dry winter sans snow. But I ♥ winter! Here's my winter ensemble:

Day 1: ALL BLACK
Beret PROMOD Black turtle neck blouse ZARA Black cotton coat and black pants CITYMAX Jelly shoes JESSICA in SM

Day 2: CHECKS AND STRIPES
Shades TERRANOVA Scarf ACCESSORIZE Military jacket NEW LOOK Checkered boyfriend shirt THE BF SHIRT from the World Trade Bazaar Black velvet pants CITYMAX Black knee-high socks ZARA Embroidered flats LADIES MARKET in Mongkok Messenger bag HUMAN

Day 3: SPLASH OF COLOR
Black cap H&M Shades FOREVER 21 Colorful scarf ACCESSORIZE Military jacket NEW LOOK Inner graphic tank top TOPSHOP Black pants MNG Embroidered flats LADIES MARKET in Mongkok

I miss winter in Riyadh! I'm sure everyone's freezing in there but I know, with your family and friends with you, I'm sure you'll just give winter the cold shoulder and will not let the chill ruin your celebration of welcoming the 2010.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

§undrenched, blogging in MNL

PS. I just have to say that it's such a good thing I was already unveiled because I do not have to photoshop my photos to blur my face. Wala din kasi akong Photoshop dito sa Pinas, lol. Yun nga lang, kailangan n'yong pagtyagaan ang hitsura ko. Hehehe. ;)

Holiday Glam

With only 18 days to go before Christmas, I'm sure most of you have been pondering what to wear on the parties ahead for the Holiday season. Even if we celebrate here discreetly, there's no excuse not to look your best. Here's an ensemble that's easy to create; do away with the usual greens and reds and think glam Christmas with bright emerald greens and fuschia, golds studs and embellishment. Dress up kahit iilan lang ang nakakakita, iwasan lang magmukhang Christmas tree.

Here's a pic with the jacket on (that's Betchay posing on the side).

An LBD will never go wrong. Pair with opaque tights to warm up this winter.

Beaded headband Forever 21 Satin black dress Topshop
Floral jacket and satin shoes H&M Pearl necklace Ms. Selfridge
Studded bag MNG

Whenever and wherever you choose to spend your Holidays this year, let us not forget the Reason for the season!

♥R♥

Back To School

Haven't done a Collage Week for weeks now so here's one for you: it's college week in Collage Week at the Pink Tarha blog! :)

This school theme should have been published last June but we girls became so busy with other things. (This is so long ago that Eyecandy has already grown her hair longer and Sundrenched has already cut her hair shorter now!) However, we figured it still is in season because the second semester for most colleges and universities will start next month.

We visited one of the Philippine schools here in Riyadh last May to complete our photography workshop. After we finished shooting our models for our portraiture lessons, we decided to ham it up for the cameras. Seeing the classrooms, blackboards, hallways, and stairs of the Sovereignty International School (formerly known as Second Philippine International School), we realized we terribly miss school and wondered why we were thrown to the cruel outside world and can not stay in school forever. :P

Feeling like kolehiyalas all over again, we came up with suggestions of what to wear in school (provided you can wear civilian clothes):

Sundrenched: Jeans from Divisoria, Philippines
Eyecandy: Jeans from Next

Jeans are, of course, the staple in every college student's closet. They're very versatile but it's hard to wash and iron them... the secret is you don't. Hehe. We're sure you've reused your jeans a couple of times before throwing them to the laundry basket. Sundrenched, who went to the University of Santo Tomas for her degree, had to wear a uniform but says she wears jeans every time she goes out to meet friends and brainstorm on projects. Eyecandy, who went to college at the University of the Philippines-Los Banos which has the perpetual normal clothes day, says shorts are the means to go to school. (But she's wearing jeans here because she's in Riyadh, not in Laguna. Hehe.)

Tops from Citymax

In college, you can wear anything as long as it's decent and comfortable. Most college students now opt for tees and jackets. S feels like polo blouses are the safest bet on college dressing because they're not shabby and not too formal. E likes gypsy tunics in colorful threads and airy fabrics and shirts to evoke the free spirit of her alma mater.

Shoes from Peacocks.

Headbands from Forever 21.

Flats are your saving grace when your classrooms are in different buildings and you need to rush from one to another. But shoes with heels can give you the confidence boost that you need especially when you're giving your oral presentation or defense. S says she wore black shoes with one-inch heels or plain black flats in school. "It's part of the dress code. Bawi na lang sa style ng sapatos!" E can pick whatever she wanted but relied on slippers most of the time. (Again, for purposes of being in Saudi Arabia, she's in her red kitten heels on the photo. ;)

Accessories are optional but if you want to stand out, then go for eye-catching headbands and jewelries. Just make sure they match your clothes.

College is fun!

No matter what you decide to wear, enjoy your college life! You'll miss those days for sure when you're already out slaving in the work industry. E and S miss their allowances the most! ;) For those who are past the college life, look back and tell us something about it.

Background photos used were searched through google.com.