Holy Week travel

It’s Thursday, the start of Easter break for a lot of us, working people. This week has been such an easy week since it started with a holiday last Monday. For those who could get away early, they will have a weeklong Easter break. For us in media, it’s work as usual…until today. We have a two-day break this year – Viernes Santo and Sabado de Gloria. We too can go on Holy Week break! Halleluia!

If this is the official start of summer, then you should have planned your destination well ahead of time, to get the best seats (in the bus, boat or plane), the best rooms, the best cottage, in the duration you want and at the best value for your money. With the convenience of the internet, bookings are such a breeze. You can even have a peek at the accommodations you want to be, be it a restaurant or resort/hotel room. To plan early is a wise move.

There is then the decision whether to spend the Holy Week break in Cebu, at another nearby destination, or in a country in ASEAN that demands no visa to visit. Of course, going to Hong Kong or Singapore or Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur has become quite affordable with all the enticing price cuts in airline fares these days. Add to that the entry of economy airlines that provide stiff competition to the regular airlines. As I pointed out here before, the 3 days-2 nights package is the cheapest, with costs going higher for additional room nights. This is the rule of thumb for all packages, domestic and international.

Another decision is your personal propensities: Do you like the lure of the sea, or the bracing mountain scenery? Shopping galore? Church visitations? Museums and Aquariums? Theatre presentations and the like? Then, those likes will determine which destination will be lovely for you. Don’t forget to book those tickets to shows and sights, together with your reservations for accommodations. What can destroy a great vacation is the frustration of not getting into places you want to be. And don’t forget booking seats in that restaurant you want to dine in when there!

For Christians, Holy Week is a break to be in a deepened contact with the Lord. There are two-day retreats available in your parish. Attend one. You may be surprised how it can be so enriching, its effects deploying to the rest of your life.

Whatever your choices are this Easter break, let it be somehow for your spirit because in this fast-paced, techno-centered world, we have all become fragile beings without knowing it. Our souls are becoming more earth-bound, ignored, silenced by the cacophony of our lives. As such, it takes a seemingly insignificant event to break our spirits, making us no better than the beasts we are supposed to lord over. Look at the violence and inhumanity around you!

Travel safely and have a hopeful and peace-filled Easter, everyone!