100 Lucky Juans Winners

Cebu Pacific's 100 Lucky Juans contest came to a conclusion last August 18, 2013. We'd like to take this opportunity to congratulate all the winners who will be flying in the inaugural flight of Cebu Pac's Big Juan from Dubai to Manila this coming October. Woot, we wish we can join you, guys! (Cebu Pac, are you reading this? Haha!)

We wish we can write about all the winning entries in this contest but we only have limited space in the blog so we chose a few that really touched our hearts... You all know that The Pink Tarha ladies are children of overseas Filipino workers, right? We even wrote about our experiences in one of our first entries in 2009 in honor of our fathers who endured the harsh desert to provide well for us. And so, we salute these parents who are dedicating their entries to their children. And we hope their children appreciate all the hard work and sacrifices their parents did for them.

Andre Dela Cruz looks forward to his vacation so he can reunite with his family whom he considers as his true home. This photo is full of happiness and love.

The joy of being with a loved one.

Divina Gracia Morillo recognizes the hardship of working abroad as a housemaid, especially in Dubai. But she doesn't give up because she's doing it for her parents and children. Like what she said in her entry, "Working in Dubai is so hard but that's life. We have to survive every day for our family." We're sure our parents, when they were away from us during the 90s, also felt the same way. It's nice to know that Divina doesn't want to waste precious seconds on her vacation. She's spending it all with her family.

This winning entry by Joey Eva is truly worth that seat to a beautiful vacation. He left the Philippines to give his son a better future but in return, he wasn't able to see the milestones in his son's life, especially when his son started attending school. This photo brings joy and sadness. Such a touching moment. 

Awww, cute!

I can imagine my father's emotions when he couldn't attend my and my siblings' recognition days and graduations. Ahh, the memories! But good for Joey, he will now be able to go home this October. His son will be in for a treat!

And speaking of graduation, Grenor Salvador's photo of his daughter on her graduation day is also poignant. He hasn't seen his children for four years. We're so glad he won because he will be able to come home this October and see his daughter get married. He won't miss that lovely moment of walking his daughter down the aisle. Awww.

Celebrating milestones

We are so happy for the winners of the 100 Lucky Juans contest. Check out all the winners here. We hope that they enjoy their prize this October. Don't forget to wave when you pass above Riyadh. Oh, right, you won't. But do remember that The Pink Tarha is cheering you on. We hope you all have a great vacation with your family and friends. Thanks Cebu Pacific for making this possible!

*This entry is sponsored by Cebu Pacific. All opinions are the writer's.

Ceb Visits Dubai

Well look who's been spotted in Dubai! 

Ceb at the Burj Dubai

CEB, Cebu Pacific's lovable mascot was seen traipsing all over Dubai, United Arab Emirates! 

Visiting the marina

Ceb roaming the streets of Dubai

We don't think you need to guess why Ceb is visiting this popular city in the Middle East. Of course, it's to check out the newest route of The Big Juan! On October 7, 2013, Cebu Pacific's A330 will touchdown, for the first time, in Dubai's international airport! We're excited for all Filipinos who will be in this flight. Of course, the plane will go back to Manila carrying the winners of the 100 Lucky Juans contest! 

For those who wants a free seat in this memorable voyage, you still have time to join the 100 Lucky Juans contest. Visit the Cebu Pacific Facebook page, click on the 100 Lucky Juans app, and submit your entry! It's so easy! They've been announcing winners weekly and we hope to see your names next on that list. 

Hay, for us in Riyadh, we can only hope for a Cebu Pac route in here please! Haha! Well who knows? While waiting for that flight, maybe we can fly to Dubai and hop on a flight to Manila from there! Sounds like a good plan huh! ;) 

This entry is sponsored by Cebu Pacific. All opinions are the writers' own. 

Family Affairs

Another round of winners were announced in Cebu Pacific's 100 Lucky Juans. And we were not surprised that most of them feature their loved ones and family members in their photos. After all, going home to the Philippines is really all about our families.

Take for example Ernesto Enumerables' entry which says that he wants to propose to his girlfriend on her birthday. Awww, sweet! (I hope publishing this wouldn't ruin the surprise! hehe!) He also wants to see and hug his baby, Joeliane.

Jewel Catungal wants to go home to the Philippines because she wants to see her daughter and tour her around the many islands of the beautiful home land! Truly, it's more fun in the Philippines!

I really like this photo of Melita Matabang featuring her mom and her mom's siblings. I like seeing siblings who really go along together. Reminds me of my brothers, sisters, and I. ;)

Congratulations to the Week 5 winners of 100 Lucky Juans! 

For those who still want to join, there's still enough time! Visit the 100 Lucky Juans app in Cebu Pac's Facebook app and submit your entries. This is open to OFWs in the United Arab Emirates only.

This entry is sponsored by Cebu Pacific. All opinions are the writer's own.

The Big Juan Soars

Cebu Pacific has really making some huge updates in their fleet lately. Apart from The Big Juan, their biggest plane to date, Cebu Pacific has just recently received its 45th aircraft, a brand new Sharklet-equipped Airbus A320 from Toulouse, France. This is Cebu Pac's third delivery of this kind of aircraft for 2013. The Sharklet-equipped Airbus A320 allows airlines to save up to 4% on fuel burn.

Soaring high!

And that's not all! Cebu Pac is expecting delivery of 16 more Airbus A320 aircraft with Sharklets, 30 Airbus A321neo and 3 Airbus A330 aircraft from this year to 2012. Now, that is one soaring airline!

Speaking of soar, the Big Juan also made its inaugural flight from Manila to Seoul (Incheon) . Flight 5J 188 was sent off with lots of fanfare and freebies. Wish we were Rizziane Tolentino, the first passenger to check-in to the flight who received a free roundtrip ticket to Seoul! 

The Big Juan ready to go!

The Big Juan's inaugural commercial flight to Seoul

Welcome aboard!

It's more fun with the A330!

The Big Juan was also used last July 8 for flight 5J 813 from Manila to Singapore. We can't wait for its grand Manila-Dubai flight on October 7, 2013! Which reminds us, have you joined the 100 Lucky Juans contest? Not yet?! Well, better hurry and check out how to join in this page and head to the Cebu Pac Facebook app to submit your photo/video/article. A seat in The Big Juan is worth it! ~ Sundrenched

This entry is sponsored by Cebu Pacific. All opinions are the writer's own.

Wishes Granted

Every Overseas Filipino Worker wants to go home to the Philippines to be with their families and the 100 Lucky Juans contest of Cebu Pacific is making the wishes and dreams of OFWs in the United Arab Emirates come true. The winners for Week 3 and 4 were already announced and The Pink Tarha had a happy yet nostalgic time browsing through the winners' entries. 

We feel their emotions emanating through their photos, videos, and writings. It's not easy to be away from the homeland and it's never easy to be away from our loved ones. We can relate to some of the entries saying that they wanted to grant the wishes of their parents and children to come home. After all, the Pink Tarha ladies were once these children of OFWs who long to be with our fathers who were abroad for quite a long time. 

Just like Ginalyn Caputol's entry which says, "My plan for my homecoming would be to grant my father's 60th birthday wish, his wish is my presence during his birthday. I would like to surprise him and give him a big party. I've never been home for 3 years." Now that she won a free flight back to the Philippines for a vacation on October, she has a chance to surprise her father. What a tearful reunion that would be. Sigh... 

Mhea from Jumeirah, Dubai has a wish for her family on her next vacation. She wants to give her mother a treat and bond with her siblings, nephews, and nieces. "Wala akong ibang iniisip kundi ang magbakasyon ulit sa Pilipinas... Gusto ko silang ipasyal sa mga lugar na dati dati tinitignan lang namin sa magazines. Gusto ko ring magsimba kasama ang buong pamilya. Simple pero very sweet homecoming." Well, guess what Mhea! Wish granted. 

Gina Basilan, on the other hand, wishes to experience the beautiful nature of the Philippines aboard the Cebu Pacific airplane with her family. "Being unhappy is not easy. I miss my family in the Philippines. I want to visit them after four years." 

She even said that she hopes to ride with Cebu Pacific. Your wish is Cebu Pac's command, Gina! 

And finally, Suzeth Jalandoni from Sharjah, UAE gets a chance to bond with her son this October. "Sabik ako maparamdam sa baby ko yung pakiramdam ng pagiging ina. Halos araw araw ng aking buhay dito sa UAE, inaasam ko na sana kasama ko lang ang anak ko at pamilya ko... Dito ko lubos naiintindihan kapag magulang kana pala, kahit mahirap, kahit mapalayo ka, bsta mabigyan mu lang ng magandang buhay at masuportahan ang pangangailang ng pamilya, lahat nakakaya. Kung pwede ko nga lang pabilisin ang araw pra lang bakasyon ko na!" 

Start counting the days to October, Suzeth! 

All these wishes and dreams are so close to our hearts as OFWs in Saudi Arabia. Every day, we want to see our loved ones in the Philippines and if only we can teleport whenever we think of them, we'd do it all the time (work be darn! Hahaha, kidding!). Good thing, there are flights like Cebu Pacific which brings us closer to our families and friends back home. Congratulations to the winners of the 100 Lucky Juans contest! 

For those who hasn't joined yet, you still have time to submit your entries to the 100 Lucky Juans contest. Good luck! ~ Sundrenched

This entry is sponsored by Cebu Pacific. All opinions are the writer's own.

It's More Fun Being a Filipino

One thing that we like about us Filipinos abroad... we always know how to have fun. Despite the distance that separates us from our families and friends back in the Philippines, we still find ways on how to entertain ourselves. We in the Pink Tarha pride ourselves in knowing that we share the same mind set that most Filipinos have all over the world, it's not only more fun in the Philippines... it's also more fun being a Filipino. 

We can't help but smile and grin at some of the photos entered in the Cebu Pacific 100 Lucky Juans contest. We can so relate in these photos of Filipinos who find ways to enjoy themselves in the United Arab Emirates. We're pretty sure Filipinos in Saudi Arabia also have these moments of fun taken in between working hours and duties. 

Take for example this video entry by Tristan Bangero, an employee of LBC, who found a solution to his homesickness. 

A video entry

He made a video of photos collected over the years so that he have something fun to watch whenever he misses his child. This "slideshow" is one cool way to reminisce happy moments to ease homesickness. I bet this would be followed with a "Gentleman" video pretty soon. ;) 

Talk about having fun in the kitchen... 

Cute puto

This photo of puto, a Philippine delicacy, is so cute! It's reminiscent of special occasions in the Philippines... or better yet, fiestas and birthdays! Juliet Constantino's home made puto looks delicious... and even more eye-catching is the use of those smiley faces that we can't help but, well, smile! 

The easiest way to have fun when we're traveling abroad? Take a photo and pose like no one's looking!  

Be your own subject.

Just look at Jojo Galve's entry where he flexes those muscles with a brightly-lit background of Doha's skyline. We're pretty sure there are more poses and photos where this came from. We can't blame him... with a gorgeous backdrop like that, we'll have fun posing too! 

And this photo's subject is a cutie: 

I'll have this baby save me! ;)

Looks like someone made fun of this baby! Haha! Isn't Lalaine Rosales' son in his Superman costume adorable? 

For more fun in the Philippines for you and your family, we encourage you OFWs in the United Arab Emirates to send in your entries in the 100 Lucky Juans contest. It's your chance to see your loved ones this October for free! Join now! Remember, even if it's more fun to become a Filipino abroad, it's best to be a Filipino in the Philippines where we are surrounded with the people who love and care for us. 

By the way... I have a secret to tell and yes, let's just keep this between us: a SALE on Cebu Pacific's MNL-DXB and vice-versa will happen soon so watch out for it. LIKE the Cebu Pacific Facebook page now to get the latest updates and promos! ;) Too juicy of a secret to keep? Okay, go ahead and share this sale alert to your loved ones and friends! ~ Sundrenched

The Janadriyah Festival 2013

It's already a ritual for The Pink Tarha ladies to visit the Janadriyah Festival every year since we started the blog. This year, it's our fourth time... and it's probably one of the most memorable because 1. it's the shortest time we've ever been in, 2. it's Shoegarfreeruby's first time to see the festival, and 3. an earthquake, a sandstorm, and a downpour didn't prevent us from going.

The afternoon of our visit to Janadriyah, a killer earthquake hit the border of Iran and Pakistan and tremors were felt in the Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia. News reports said that almost 40 people died in the province of Balochistan. This is the first earthquake I felt in Riyadh and it would have been a reason to cancel our trip to Janadriyah because tremors would likely be felt again in the coming hours. But no, we couldn't cancel our trip because Tuesday is the only day that we're available and the festival will close on Saturday so we rode the bus in our workplace and went on our way around 5:30 in the afternoon. We were joined by other employees in the workplace.

It was drizzling when we arrived but it immediately came to a stop when we alighted from the bus (thank you, heavens!). Because we only have 3 hours to go around the area (actually, just 2 hours because of the 2 prayer times), we immediately searched for the... restroom. Lol. Just so we can go around without having to look for one again. 

Eyecandy got her henna tattoo while waiting. The price of getting a henna doubled this year! SR30!

E having her left arm henna tattooed.

Anyway, the restroom we went to was near the pavilion of the United Arab Emirates, which we haven't seen on the past few years. This pavilion is also in the middle of controversies in the past few days because of 1. a female singer who was not on the line-up to perform, 2. a religious police being taken out of the area by the National Guard, and 3. three Emirati men who were deported because they were too handsome and the religious police felt that the women visiting the festival would fall for them. SERIOUSLY. This story is so annoyingly funny that even TIME picked it up and a lot of friends in the Philippines were making fun of it in their Facebook and Twitter statuses. Oh well...

The Emiratis

We saw a group of singers performing during the time of our visit. This is the only pavilion we've seen so far that segregates the men from the women. We couldn't get past half of the pav because it was for men only. (It was pure coincidence that we were looking for too handsome men to fall in love with. LOL. Just kidding!)

Performance from the UAE crowd

After visiting the UAE pavilion, we went inside the Eastern region's pavilion. We've seen this on our first Janadriyah in 2010 and nothing much has changed.

A man playing a wood and string instrument

Old and new.

The bridal scene

This might look familiar.

The barn of yesteryears.

From a distance, we saw the stage where the guest country, China, was performing their famed dragon dance. After that, several martial artists performed with their swords.

The Chinese stage is the most popular!

We went inside the China pavilion too. 

The very red China pavilion

"Jackie Chan" welcomed us.

Cool screen!

It was much simpler compared to the pavilions of Japan and Korea. They only showcased their crafts and highlights of their culture. Very interesting crafts though.

Ms. China should wear this in the Ms. Universe pageant.

Love the floral designs in Chinese fabrics!

More red carpet worthy gowns

Painted ceramics

Close up on the blue/black design of a plate

This is paper art. Brilliant!

Calligraphy! (I want to learn this!)

We had our name written in Chinese and had commemorative pins as souvenirs.

Our souvenir.

It was another salah when we went out of the Chinese pavilion so we walked around and found ourselves in the Gulf countries' pavilion where men were praying together and the religious police were milling around with policemen in tow. The presence of the muttawas kind of dampen the festive atmosphere of the place. They were far too many! They were even hounding men to pray and shouting at them. There's nothing wrong with praying, of course, but they don't have to shout and embarrass these people.

Men praying.

After the prayer finished at around 8:15, we went to buy our food for dinner. R and I went for McDonald's, Eyecandy went for Shawarmer, and a friend went for felafel. We decided to go outside the gate already to wait for our bus. Call time was at 9pm and we wouldn't want to have a repeat of that time when the bus left us! LOL. 

We were halfway through our dinner when the bus sidled along the road and parked near our benches. We went inside the bus to wait. Lo and behold, a sandstorm suddenly came and covered every thing around us with brownish orange sand! We made it in the bus in the nick of time!

Sandstorm brewing.

RAIN!!!

The wind was howling and the bus was rocking. It toppled some flags and monobloc chairs in the distance. And then the rain came. It washed away the sand in the atmosphere but it brought in mud. It was one of the scariest moments I've experienced in the desert.

Some of our bus mates were lost in their way back to the gate and some were not allowed to go out in the weather so we had to wait for them for another hour. They finally arrived quarter to 10 and we were on our way back to the workplace. We arrived an hour later. Thank you, Lord, for keeping us safe.

Outskirt of Riyadh; not a version of the Kingdom Tower. :P

The Janadriyah Festival will continue to be a good showcase of the best of Saudi Arabia's culture and tradition. Even if there are a few issues that pop up each year (ie. sandstorm) or just repeats (ermn, muttawa encounters), that's not enough to keep you from going. We're looking forward to Janadriyah 2014 already... we hope the Philippines gets to be the guest country! ;) ~ Sundrenched

Janadriyah 2010
Janadriyah 2011
Janadriyah 2012
Janadriyah 2013