Before she flew to Honkong for a connecting flight to Moscow, Miss Philippines Ariella Arida is glowing in her red dress as she holds a mini pre-departure presscon with the TV networks and press reps. Looking vibrant in red, Arida is all smiles and very confident for her first trip in Russia, she is scheduled to arrive today from Hong Kong.

While a good number of contestants are already basking in Moscow's cold weather, Arida has yet to land and this adds up to the growing anticipation of Miss Philippines' fans to see her for the first time in Russia. From her send-off party to her pre-departure presscon, all eyes are on her and this time everybody is looking forward as she checks in to Crowne Plaza Moscow World Trade Center.

Arida is making waves even if she's not yet in Russia and she is constantly in the Top 5 based on the internet polls. Some Miss Universe contestants are already thrilled to meet her, like USA's Erin Brady who is intrigued by the non-stop trending of Ariella Arida's name on Twitter and the constant shout-outs of the Philippines' bet. Miss Indonesia Whulandary Herman is also anticipating Arida's arrival as the two has been exchanging tweets in the past few months.

Write-ups from the Miss Universe Website about Arida is also very interesting and diverse. Thanks to her Chemistry background, the 24-year-old stunner has a fresh annd unique fun facts about her - from making herbal sweets when she was young to learning how to drive a stick shift for just 5 hours without any driving experience all the way to chemical compound composition.

Arida is going to face a hectic schedule once she arrived in the capital of Russia and will see if she stands out from the sea of beautiful faces. The 62nd edition of Miss Universe Pageant will feature 87 delegates from all over the world, and two contestants have Filipino descent: Miss Canada Riza Santos and Miss Gabon Ruth Jennifer Ondo Mouchita.