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Chapters
After the Mongolia posts, after Myanmar, after the story about the fuel line outside Ulaanbaatar and the one from Timor-Leste, I started getting a version of the same message, worded differently each time: I want to see this too, but I don't know where to start, and I don't want to figure it out alone.
For a long time, my honest answer was to just write the guide and let you take it from there. That's still true for plenty of places. But some of them ask for more than a good article: a person who already knows the roads, the right people, and the pace that actually works there.
So here it is: Alaya Tours, small-group tours for Filipino travelers who want to actually go, not just read about it. I built it with my best friend Mirjan, and together we're taking a deliberately small number of people each year to places I've already spent real time in, the same ones that shaped how I write this blog in the first place.
Alaya is pronounced Ah-LAH-yah, with the accent Mirjan and I use on the wordmark itself: Aláya. It's a small detail, but people ask, so now you know before anyone else does.
What Alaya Tours actually is
Alaya (alayatours.com) is its own brand, separate from Wandering Emerald, built on equal footing between me and Mirjan. She spends her working life as a flight attendant, so she has seen more airports, more chaotic layovers, and more exhausted travelers than almost anyone I know personally. I bring the part where I've already been to these places: the contacts, the routes, and the mistakes I made the first time so you don't have to make them too.
The idea underneath it is simple. Travel should mean something by the time you land back home, not just fill a camera roll. That could be something you learned, something you felt, or just a place you understand a little differently than you did before you left.
Every trip we run starts the same way, long before it's ever listed for sale. One of us goes first, alone or together, tests the guide, eats the food, and walks the trail. Only after that do we decide whether it's something we'd bring ten strangers on. It's a slower way to build a tour company than picking places off a map and calling an agency, but it means every host and guide on an Alaya trip is someone we've actually stood next to.
The four kinds of trips we run
Not every traveler wants the same trip, so Alaya runs four different lines instead of one fixed format. Here's how they break down.
Alaya Journeys
The cultural, unhurried side of Alaya: food, history, people, and landscape, with an itinerary that has room to breathe instead of racing between stops. This is the line our first trip, Luminous Laos, belongs to.
Alaya Expeditions
For travelers who want the more physical version of understanding a place: harder terrain, smaller teams, and more time with the people who actually live and work in that landscape. It's rugged, but never disconnected from the local thread running through it.
Alaya Reserve
Fully private, custom-built itineraries for a family, a couple, or a group of friends who want something designed only around them. These aren't fixed departures you can book off a page. Each one starts as a conversation about what you're actually looking for, then gets built from there.
Alaya Retreats
Quieter trips built around rest and reflection rather than a list of sights to check off. We're still shaping exactly what the first Retreats departure looks like, and I'll write about it here once it's real instead of guessing at details now.
What are small-group tours for Filipino travelers like?
I built Alaya with the same reader in mind that I write Wandering Emerald for: someone who wants more than a checklist trip but doesn't necessarily want to spend three months researching visas, exchange rates, and which tour operator is actually trustworthy. A few things stay consistent across every trip we run, regardless of which line it belongs to.
- Capped groups. Luminous Laos, our first departure, is capped at ten travelers, small enough that you'll actually get to know the other nine people standing next to you at sunrise, waiting for a hot air balloon.
- Personally scouted. Every guide, driver, host, and homestay has been vetted by Mirjan or me in person, not sourced sight unseen through a booking platform.
- Room to breathe. The days aren't packed tightly enough that you're sprinting between sights. There's time to actually be somewhere before moving on.
- Built for a first big trip. If Laos, Myanmar, or Mongolia would be your first time traveling somewhere unfamiliar, that's exactly who this is for. We handle the parts that usually cause the most anxiety beforehand: where to go, who to trust, and what to expect once you land.
- Flight help. Hotels are included in the trip price. International flights are not, but our Concierge can book them for you, and we can help with travel insurance too.
First up: Luminous Laos
Our first trip runs February 13 to 17, 2027, a five-day journey through Laos, moving from Vientiane to Vang Vieng and finishing in Luang Prabang. It's a Journeys-line trip, which means the pace is unhurried and the days are built around real immersion rather than a list of landmarks.
| Detail | What to know |
|---|---|
| Dates | February 13 to 17, 2027 (5 days, 4 nights) |
| Route | Vientiane → Vang Vieng → Luang Prabang |
| Group size | Capped at 10 travelers |
| Price | ₱67,999 per person, twin share |
| Deposit | 30% to reserve your spot, balance due 60 days before departure |
| Included | 4 nights in 3-star hotels, ground transport, listed meals, entrance fees, cooking class, hot air balloon flight, rice farming immersion, Mekong cruise |
| Not included | International flights, travel insurance, tips, and personal spending (we can help arrange flights and insurance) |
Full details, including the day-by-day itinerary, are on the Luminous Laos trip page. Rooms are twin-share, and a private room is available for an extra ₱10,000.
In Vientiane, the trip opens with a cooking class, learning Lao dishes from someone who has been making them far longer than either Mirjan or I have.
In Vang Vieng, the karsts take over. A hot air balloon ride lifts you above the limestone formations at sunrise, hikes take you through them at ground level, and the waterfalls along the way are worth the walk on their own.
In Luang Prabang, the trip slows down further with a rice farming immersion on a working community farm, followed by a Mekong sunset cruise before everyone heads home.
What Filipino travelers need to know about entering Laos
As a Philippine passport holder, you don't need a visa for this trip. Filipino citizens can enter Laos visa-free for stays of up to 30 days for tourism, which comfortably covers five days. Bring a passport valid for at least six months past your entry date, and keep a copy of your return ticket on hand in case immigration asks for it.
There is one extra step that applies no matter your nationality. Since September 2025, Laos has required all foreign travelers to complete a free Lao Digital Immigration Form online, submitted no more than three days before entering or leaving the country. We will walk everyone on the trip through this beforehand, but it's worth knowing it exists if you're used to filling out a paper card on the plane.
Entry rules can shift, so it's always worth a quick check closer to your travel dates. We will flag anything that changes before departure.
Where Alaya is headed next
Laos is the start, not the whole plan. We are building toward five more destinations, chosen because they are places I have either already spent real time in or am building the same kind of direct relationships in ahead of a trip: Borneo, Myanmar, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, and Timor-Leste.
Myanmar and Mongolia are already part of this blog's story, not just Alaya's future one. Timor-Leste is too, from Mt. Ramelau to Jaco Island. If you want a feel for the first, start with the Myanmar travel guide or my story of traveling Myanmar in 2025.
Borneo and Sri Lanka are newer ground for me, which means the same rule applies before either becomes a bookable Alaya trip: we go first, we build the relationships, and only then do we open it up.
What this is, and what it isn't
None of this replaces Wandering Emerald. If you'd rather do the reading and go on your own timeline, that's still exactly what this blog is for. Alaya exists for the trips that are easier to actually take with someone who has already done the work of getting them right.
I don't know yet how big this gets. Right now it's ten seats in Laos, a website with Mirjan's name next to mine, and a list of places I keep thinking about long after I've left them. That feels like the right size to start.
Ready to come along?
The balance is due 60 days before departure. Questions first? Message @alayatours on Instagram or Facebook.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between Alaya Tours and Wandering Emerald?
Wandering Emerald is this blog: stories and guides you can use on your own, at your own pace. Alaya Tours is a separate small-group travel company that Mirjan and I run, for people who would rather join a trip that's already been scouted and planned.
How much does Luminous Laos cost, and what's included?
It's ₱67,999 per person on a twin-share basis, with a 30% deposit to hold your spot and the balance due 60 days before departure. Four nights in 3-star hotels, ground transport, the listed meals, the hot air balloon flight, the rice farming immersion, and the Mekong cruise are included. International flights and travel insurance are not, though we can help arrange both.
How many people go on each trip?
Luminous Laos is capped at 10 travelers. Future trips will have their own caps depending on the line, but keeping groups small is a rule across all of them.
Do Filipino travelers need a visa for Laos?
No. Philippine passport holders can enter Laos visa-free for stays of up to 30 days for tourism, which is more than enough for this five-day trip. You'll still need to submit the free Lao Digital Immigration Form online within three days of arrival, a requirement introduced for all foreign travelers in 2025, and we'll help you complete it before you go.
Where else will Alaya go?
Laos is first. Borneo, Myanmar, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, and Timor-Leste are next, in an order we'll confirm as each trip gets built and scouted properly.
Wander deeper,
Merald
