Sophia Khalid,
Girls Group Holiday Founder
Hello, I’m Sophia, a compulsive reader, a human rights advocate and a travel addict. I believe something magical happens when you travel, you start to see the world and life in general in a different way. It changes your perspective; it makes you appreciate things and it turns you into a storyteller.
I can sit for hours and tell you about my journey through China, from Beijing to Hong Kong on a 23- hour direct train, and me being the only non-Chinese person on the entire train. Or about the time in Alexandria, Egypt when I was welcomed into an Egyptian family and experienced my first Egyptian wedding henna night, after which I became a fan of Egyptian music! The time I cycled from Switzerland to France, I love how impressed people get. I was staying in Geneva on the border of France, so it sounds more epic than it was. And then that time I was invited to the stage to sing a Bollywood song in Istanbul. With an audience of hundreds, my legs and my voice were shaking, I barely knew the chorus, but I felt invigorated with that microphone in hand.
One day I hope to write a book, about the good times, the bad times and those downright bizarre times – there have been so many.
Travelling completely transformed my life. It gave me the inner confidence I had always lacked. If I had not travelled, I doubt I would have gone on to achieve even half of the extraordinary things I went on to achieve. It took me out of my day to day reality and enabled me to see the bigger, brighter picture. Although I travelled mostly alone, along the way I met strangers who fast became good friends – now we share some incredibly special bonds. I have some of the juiciest stories to relay back to my grandchildren in old age, about my daring adventures and stacks of photographs, lipsticks and jewellery (I don’t buy magnets or keyrings as souvenirs instead I collect lipsticks and jewellery). As well as countless beautiful, bewildering and life-enriching memories, cherished moments that will always bring a huge smile to my face and a gladdened heart, so full of gratitude to have been blessed with the gift of travel.
However, I know it’s not always easy and I understand many of the challenge’s girls and women face. I have been there myself. The cultural challenges, persuading your family or feeling too nervous to take the scary first step and go alone because your friends are too busy with other commitments. I was all the above. That’s why I started Girls Group Holiday in 2016 and made it my mission to make travel accessible to more women, especially women from Asian and Ethnic backgrounds. I want other women, like me, to feel the joy and possibility travel will bring into their lives.
Travelling completely transformed my life. It gave me the inner confidence I had always lacked. If I had not travelled, I doubt I would have gone on to achieve even half of the extraordinary things I went on to achieve. It took me out of my day to day reality and enabled me to see the bigger, brighter picture. Although I travelled mostly alone, along the way I met strangers who fast became good friends – now we share some incredibly special bonds. I have some of the juiciest stories to relay back to my grandchildren in old age, about my daring adventures and stacks of photographs, lipsticks and jewellery (I don’t buy magnets or keyrings as souvenirs instead I collect lipsticks and jewellery). As well as countless beautiful, bewildering and life-enriching memories, cherished moments that will always bring a huge smile to my face and a gladdened heart, so full of gratitude to have been blessed with the gift of travel.
However, I know it’s not always easy and I understand many of the challenge’s girls and women face. I have been there myself. The cultural challenges, persuading your family or feeling too nervous to take the scary first step and go alone because your friends are too busy with other commitments. I was all the above. That’s why I started Girls Group Holiday in 2016 and made it my mission to make travel accessible to more women, especially women from Asian and Ethnic backgrounds. I want other women, like me, to feel the joy and possibility travel will bring into their lives.
Since we started, we’ve had just under one hundred women travel with Girls Group Holiday, women of all ages, and all backgrounds, from all corners of the UK. I’ve seen transformations, I’ve been told we’ve changed lives and I’ve felt the warmth of beautiful friendships blossoming. It’s a beautiful thing when women come together, united and in celebration of themselves. When I started, I didn’t envisage how far we would come or how far we would go (Hong Kong being the furthest destination) and I had no idea how many extraordinary women I would have the pleasure of travelling with and now calling friends.
So, whatever your background might be. Whether you have a high-flying career, you’re a stay at home mum, a housewife, a student or don’t fit into any of the above boxes. Whether you’ve never travelled before, or you’re looking to travel with new friends. Whatever your story is, I welcome you to travel with Girls Group Holiday and I look forward to getting to know you.