Excursion of IBC Students During The Semester Break - 2024

Reported by Ven. Kosalla, BA4 student
Taking a trip is one of the best ways to relax, and there are various reasons why people travel, including leisure, business, and the desire to explore new cultures and traditions. Traveling offers numerous advantages, such as improved communication skills, stress relief, and emotional rejuvenation. The first week of vacation at International Buddhist College (IBC) occurs during the three-week semester break. On November 23, 2024, two days into our vacation, IBC organized a trip to Songkhla Beach for male students. In this report, I would like to share my personal reflections and experiences from this memorable journey.

Initially, I had never been to a beach before, although I planned to visit one in my home country, Myanmar, during my high school years, starting in 2018. Unfortunately, I was unable to travel after graduating from high school in the 2019-2020 academic year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which started spreading in 2019, along with the conflict in my country. It was a fortunate coincidence that I had the opportunity to visit Songkhla Beach in 2024, even though it wasn’t in my home country. I was truly happy and couldn’t express how pleased I was with the trip; it was a memorable first experience at the beach.

Furthermore, Songkhla Beach is a beautiful location, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time there. I believe all my friends also had new and enriching experiences. We left IBC at 7:30 AM, but our journey didn’t go directly to the beach. Before heading there, we planned to visit Wat Khok Piew Temple and Wat Laem Pho in Koh Yo island to see the reclining Buddha statue and Dragon statue respectively. We also took group photos to capture our memories. Afterward, we stopped at the Lotus Shop for lunch and some time to rest. Some of us rested in the car while others explored the shop. The Lotus Shop was larger than others we had seen, so many of us took the opportunity to explore and even witnessed some young people singing there—another new experience for us.

We continued our journey to the beach at 12:30 PM. When we arrived, we took pictures and had fun. Unfortunately, it began to rain heavily before we could fully enjoy the beach, which disrupted our plans. However, the rain lasted only a short time. Once it stopped, we went to another beach known as Golden Mermaid Beach. Unfortunately, as soon as we arrived, the rain started again. Despite this, I believe we all enjoyed ourselves and created lasting memories. The vacation was truly wonderful and meant a lot to all of us.

In conclusion, I was extremely happy because it was my first time visiting a beach, and I believe my friends had a great time as well. This trip taught us many new things. On behalf of all my friends, I would like to express our gratitude to IBC for providing complimentary food and drinks, especially to Ven. Zhen Sheng and Ven. Dipananda for organizing the trip. In my opinion, this excursion created beautiful memories for everyone involved.