The Travellers’ Prayer
To interrupt briefly our Philippines travelogue, we just had to reproduce this. On a weather beaten old sign on the edge of Sagada village, there sits a sign with a prayer. This sign is too dilapidated to be legible in a photograph, so instead we reproduce the text of the sign here in full. There’s no doubt that the words will absolutely resonate with every traveller, particularly the independent ones amongst us, and I dare say give everyone a smile….
Heavenly Father, look down on your humble, obedient servants who are doomed to travel this Earth, taking photographs, mailing postcards, buying souvenirs and walking around in drip dry underwear. We beseech you O Lord to see our plane is not hijacked, our luggage is not lost and our overweight baggage goes unnoticed. Protect us from surly and unscrupulous taxi drivers, avaricious porters and unlicensed English speaking guides.
Give us this day divine guidance in the selection of our hotel that we may find reservations honoured, our rooms made up, breakfast included and hot water running from taps.
We pray that the telephone works, operators speak our tongue and remember our morning calls for the sake of others on our tour. And that there is no mail from our children waiting for us which would force us to cancel the rest of our trip.
Lead us dear Lord to good inexpensive restaurants where the food is superb, the waiters friendly and the wine served complimentary. Give us wisdom to tip correctly in currencies we do not understand. Forgive us for under tipping out of ignorance and over tipping out of fear. Make the locals love us for what we are and not for what we can contribute to their worldly goods.
Grant us the strength to visit the museums, the cathedrals, the colonial houses, national parks and convict jails listed as “must see” in the guide books. And if by chance we skip a historical monument to take a nap after lunch, have mercy on us for the flesh is but weak.
Amen
![Hanging coffins in Sagada, Philippines](https://i0.wp.com/www.thehungrytravellers.blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG_3247.jpeg?resize=75%2C75&ssl=1)
![Stobosa, Valley of Colours, Baguio, Philippines](https://i0.wp.com/www.thehungrytravellers.blog/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/IMG_3086.jpeg?resize=75%2C75&ssl=1)
44 Comments
normareadtalktalknet
A great find
Brilliant 😆
Phil & Michaela
Who wouldn’t relate to it huh….
Phil & Michaela
Made us laugh!
Alison
Very blog worthy! How articulate too
Phil & Michaela
Everyone will relate to it!
Phil & Michaela
Yep, we just had to reproduce it!
Annie Berger
Absolutely brilliant!
Phil & Michaela
We thought so too 😂
Phil & Michaela
Just felt it would appeal to the whole travel community !
unabashedlyselflessd56f4a6e26
A very detailed and honest prayer! 😀
Phil & Michaela
And funny!
Phil & Michaela
And funny 😂
Suzanne@PictureRetirement
and may the trains always run on time…
Phil & Michaela
Funny huh!?
Phil & Michaela
Now you’re stretching it Suzanne!
Toonsarah
Oh, that’s fantastic! Thanks for taking the time to transcribe it 🙂
Phil & Michaela
We can all relate to that one huh…
Ivy Delon
Just in time for our Spain trip! Lol. Ivy
Phil & Michaela
Well keep repeating the prayer and you’ll be fine 😂
Helen Devries
It speaks to all our anxieties…
Phil & Michaela
Good Lord, Helen’s back in our inbox! Did you resolve it or it just started working again as if by miracle?!
Helen Devries
I was about to sacrifice a goat……
Phil & Michaela
😃😂
Monkey's Tale
Hilarious!! Maggie
Phil & Michaela
I thought you’d like it 😂
Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle
What a relatable prayer, ha!
Phil & Michaela
Fun, huh….will make every traveller smile!
gsilvosatrekpix
That’s very relatable! Did you get to find out who wrote or posted the prayer?
Phil & Michaela
It’s just credited to “Sagada Environmental Guides Association” so we know no more than that. Good though, huh?
gsilvosatrekpix
Absolutely!
restlessjo
I couldn’t have put it better… xx
Phil & Michaela
I think we can all relate to it!
Lynette d'Arty-Cross
That’s so true! Thanks for taking the time to reproduce it!
Phil & Michaela
Definitely felt it was worth sharing!
ehacarr
Amen! Shall repost to friends – obligatory in this case 🙂 !
Phil & Michaela
Everyone will smile….
Travels Through My Lens
Amen!
Phil & Michaela
😂👍
grandmisadventures
Best ever! Amen to that 🙂
Phil & Michaela
😄
WanderingCanadians
Love it! I certainly give a little prayer about the overweight baggage going unnoticed these days when travelling with our little one!
Phil & Michaela
Amusing thing to find huh
MrsWayfarer
Totally relatable! Made me smile =)
Phil & Michaela
We can all relate to it!