Susu.in.wanderland is an enthusiastic adventurous traveler . Searching for the roads less traveled in addition to the famous destinations . Pushing my followers to happily and excitedly go through new adventures. Travelling can be a life changing experience by taking your adrenaline up , experiencing different cultures ,meeting new people and discovering the unknown and watching yourself wandering around the world to discover what you never know. Fasten your seat belts and join me in trips all over the world and be prepared for the exciting trip ahead .
RK : First of all, thanks a lot for accepting our invitation for an interview. Please say something about you. About your career as a fashion blogger & traveler. How did you get started?
Susu.in.wanderland : I am Suhir AL.Samman ...Syrian Canadian, based in Dubai . I am a travel addict ,humanitarian , love fashion and trends ..I am Syrian Canadian living in Dubai . I work with my family in our family hotel , I do some missions with the United Nations with coordination with some public telecommunication companies and I am now working on the thesis of my second MBA of Tourism. I always get amazing feedback on my stories that I used to tell my family and friends about my trips and adventures . They always encourage me to show my photos and tell my stories and experiences for public . I thank God that I got a good reputation of being so positive and energetic. I started my page with an aim to create lovely platform to spread positivity and beautiful vibes through beautiful photos, videos ,adventures, and a traveler story telling ..
RK : Do you see yourself as an “Blogger & influencer”, and if so, what does that mean to you?
Susu.in.wanderland : I see myself an influencer toward happiness , confidence , optimism and enjoying life to the maximum .. As a blogger in exploring the beauty of Earth , see it closely and discover every single corner of the world.. I love to be a motivator , an enthusiastic person to try new things , push fears away and enjoy life . Life is too short and should not be taken too seriously.. This means a lot of responsibility .. I feel this through making every follower feel the urge to try a new way of living which is more into fulfilling the spirit needs to live happier. !!
RK : How do you select brands you work with? When was your first collaboration with a brand?
Susu.in.wanderland : I always wanted to be sure that I am on the right track with my followers . But my main collaboration is with hotels in Dubai and abroad . My first hotel collaboration was in ATLANTIS Hotel Dubai Palm Jumeirah in promoting the fabulous Underwater Suit . This suit is the most expensive and unique suit in the world .. It was an amazing experience indeed .
RK : In your opinion, How important are ethical standards for the fashion bloggers & influencers?
Susu.in.wanderland : I believe that bloggers should be always careful about the message they are spreading to the world because their decisions could influence more than they expect, to all age groups .Transparency and credibility are the most important values of influencers. Big influencers are role models to millions of people, they start trends, no matter how ethically correct it is, people will follow these trends. they normalize what we never considered normal. They should be always responsible for standards and ethics they spread and the goods they advertise.
RK : If you had to name one thing, what would be your favorite thing in your wardrobe right now?
Susu.in.wanderland : As a female I believe that a lady should own every single style no matter what color, aesthetic or style it is. Every once in a while we need to get out of our comfort zone and try something different and give off a more unique look than our usual style. Ladies should be ready for any occasion and be prepared and have a variety of options in the closet. Personally I’ve kept every piece of clothing in my closet since I was a teenager and never got rid of anything unless it is for a good purpose. It is shocking how clothing trends come back every couple of years. I’ve had clothes that I stopped wearing because they were out of style but after a period of time I’m surprised to see that the same outfits I wore 5 years ago are so trendy now. I also believe that nowadays almost all styles are trendy. Now, every lady has her own style that expresses her personality and nothing is considered old fashion anymore. A lady should be always ready to attend any surprising event , no matter what style it requires.
RK : You are the girl who fueled her dreams to make it a reality ! a traveler, a successful fashion blogger & a hotel owner , who or what has helped you to evolve your dynamic personality? Did it come naturally to you or someone motivated you to channelize your diverse passion?
Susu.in.wanderland : My father was always the great motivator .I loved his successful method of multi learning and multi business. I enjoyed studying different fields like International Relations, English Literature ,Business , Immediate Translation, Tourism and Hotel Management. I always felt that I am very ready to learn from a new business that would provoke me to be part of it. Traveling started when I was a baby as my parents believed that the biggest part of knowledge starts from exploring the world. This helped me to be so energetic, fast, dynamic and practical in traveling time .
RK : Being a traveler, How much do you research and plan your adventures before going on a trip? What do you think is the most difficult part of planning a trip?
Susu.in.wanderland : My hardest part is to decide on the suitable days to travel as I have many other commitments . I usually decide late , but I manage it well, out of the experience I have. Always I check the best time to travel , I check the weather and also I search for amazing activities to be done there.. I always look for unique , crazy or unfamiliar things to be done .Find new places that are unfamiliar if you are a frequent traveler, check areas of hotels and reserve the suitable one , and find a driver if needed ,buy the ticket. This is my method . It is not hard at all. At the end, you are traveling to enjoy . Remember that you don’t have to complicate things too much. Internet , concierge and brochures are always available. Fun is the target.
RK : You have traveled almost 75 destinations all over the world. What are a few of the destinations topping your bucket list now?
Susu.in.wanderland : Ohhh.. to be honest every single country and city on Earth is my target. There is always something unique and special in every country. I have Cuba in mind for a long , Japan too ,Jamaica ,India and Australia .
RK : What is one of your biggest travel mistakes and how did you handle it?
Susu.in.wanderland : Planning late was never a big matter .Reaching your target is always fun even if with late booking. One big mistake that I made once : One time in Kuala Lumpur ,my credit card was blocked due to multiple transactions in different countries recently .My bank insisted that there is a problem. I couldn’t find my other cards with me ,which cost me 3 days without any money as I was never a big-sum cash-holder.
RK : You have done several missions with The United Nations also. Please share your experience with us.
Susu.in.wanderland : I started volunteering with them when I was young.. My first one with the UN were in Botswana since 48% of pregnant women tested HIV positive. Some were in Syria to help people to grow their crops with ICARDA. Some in Uganda to save the guerrilla forests , and many more.
RK : What motivated you to go into Hotel Industry ? What are your biggest strengths as a hotelier and entrepreneur? What makes your hotel memorable and unforgettable?
Suhir AL.Samman : Our hotel is my father project . He built it from A to Z .. and was very proud of his achievement , and we are all working together in our family project . I had to be a hotelier when I was young and I had to learn everything by my own.. I passed through all hotel departments till I reached the level that I worth to be in a managing position.. including reception , banquets , kitchen , and I supervised the house keeping to know about every single detail in the hotel business . My biggest strength lies in the fact that I was raised up in a hospitality environment and I really know how to evaluate other hotels in all departments. I am also a member of the JCI ; Junior Chamber International. This was an amazing field for all those junior future-oriented entrepreneurs and young leaders to reach the targeted new and creative projects . I added my second MBA to my hotelier passion to create more knowledge to add it to my experience.
Our hotel is signatured with the family taste , atmosphere , cleanliness , and tranquility . We are all working together with almost the same employees and workers since the soft opening in 2014 . Our regular and new guests feel just like home .This is the most genuine , unforgettable and memorable part of being in a family hotelier experience. The first things I learned ;
never accept shortening and keep the name clean as you will always be proud of it.
RK : What have been your major challenges while setting up your own Hotel ?
Susu.in.wanderland : The most challenging part for our family was to find the experienced hoteliers staff to work with us for long terms as we love to treat them as family members that stay familiar to our clients. Our staff now deserve to be part of our hotel big family. They work with us, not for us.
RK : Give us 7 fun facts people might not know about you yet.
Susu.in.wanderland :
● I definitely prefer to follow a monkey to play , feed him and capture him in a funny video and an amazing pose in a new country ,than spending hours to go brand shopping.
● I can never resist the temptation of swimming in waterfalls .. it is one of the most curing things that always keeps me fresh and energetic.. I always imagine that waterfalls are coming from heaven. I TRY TO DO THAT EVEN IF IT IS NOT ALLOWED..
● I love interacting with native (aboriginal) peoples and I love to chase them where they live.. I am so curious about their amazing life details.. and my biggest dream is to spend some nights in their tribe’s living area to get closer to their ethics ,traditions and beliefs . I met two tribes in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil.
● I always turn to salads / fruits / cheese mode when I am in a trip. I love to feel light and stay in shape .. This is a piece of advice to stay safe too .. you might face some intolerance matters .
● I never sacrifice elegance . I love to travel while I look cool but still nice and trendy . I never wear unmatched two pieced or unmatching shoes . I wear comfy clothes but I insist on my femininity , as I am so proud of it.
● I always take a hand bag with me during my travel day trips to change the look many times during the day..Everything is available to turn from swimming look to hiking then partying .
● I Owned a little pony named “Judy” when I was in elementary school and this is how I learned horseback riding .
RK : We (Retro Kolkata) are trying to build one single stage for all the artists, because we believe that artists are the most beautiful creation of God and geographical boundary can never break their unity and harmony. Please say something about our initiative and any special message
Susu.in.wanderland : I love the harmony you are creating out in your magazine of the amazing combination of the colorful artistic world of art, music, culture, fashion,photography ,blogging and influencing together , mixing all those people and motivating them by treating them as most beautiful creatures , no matter where they are coming from is really unique , fabulous and respectful. I am so glad to deal with platforms that are artistry motivators . Thank you .
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