A Prayer for the Backpacker

Heavenly father, look down on us your humble obedient tourist – servants, who are doomed to travel this earth taking photos, emailing, buying souvenirs and walking around in drip dry underwear. Gives us this day divine guidance in the selection of our hostels, that we may find our reservations honored, our rooms made up and hot water from the taps. We pray that the telephones work and the lines not slow and the operators speak in our tongues.

Lead us dear lord to good, inexpensive restaurants, where the food is superb, the waiters friendly and the wine included in the price. Give us the 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 natives 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 palaces and the castles listed in the guidebooks as “a must”. And if by any chance we skip a historic monument to take a nap after lunch, have mercy on us for our flesh is weak.

Amen