Who she is

Cynthia is 28 and from the Netherlands. In November 2025 she joined our Sri Lanka trip, her first time in Asia.

Going in

She booked spontaneously. There was a lot going on at home with her mum’s health and it was very stressful, and she wanted some distance from the situation for a while. When she saw the Sri Lanka trip on Instagram, she just booked.

She was really nervous about the group, worried she would not click with anyone and would feel lonely, but the opposite happened. She had a lovely group, clicked with everyone immediately and felt at ease as soon as she met them.

The trip

The elephant safari was one of her favourites, a memorable day outdoors seeing so many elephants together. She thinks the rough start, and the way everyone pitched in, is part of why the group bonded so quickly, and she is grateful for those women and how welcoming everyone was.

What changed

She feels more confident now to join more trips like this and to open up to strangers who became friends along the way. It was stepping outside her comfort zone and finding that it was okay to do so.