Weekly Photo Challenge: Forces of Nature 2

We came across these unusual rock formations on a visit to Oman in 2013.  The object of our trip was to prove some new routes for the second edition of Mike Nott’s “Adventure Routes: UAE and Oman” (which is due to be published this week).

At first we thought they might be fossils, but you will see by the last photo that they were massive – up to one metre across.  A geologist has since told me that these are the result of small amounts of molten rock being pushed up to the surface.  A force of nature indeed.

In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “Forces of Nature.”

A COOL day in Dubai

Somebody somewhere thinks I am a journalist….. so I was lucky enough to make it on to the guest list for the launch of a very interesting and useful new portal – UB-COOL.

The event was held in the uber-trendy Media One Hotel in Dubai, and there we were welcomed by the owner, the lovely Medina and her band of staff and friends.

UB-COOL.com is the first portal in the world specialising in adventures, the equivalent of booking.com for adventure seekers.

Service providers, companies which provide such diverse activities as scuba diving, white water rafting and mountain biking, list their adventure on the site offering would-be adventurers a one-stop shop to select and book.

Before the listing goes live, the team at UB-COOL.com check out the legitimacy of the provider, requiring sight of their trade licence, insurances and any other required permissions – this way clients can be sure to avoid cowboy operators.   There’s also a facility for users to rate their experience – another way of ensuring quality across their providers.

There has been a massive response to the site and new adventures are being added every week, so I’ll be bookmarking this page!

The information is very clearly displayed and the site is a delight to navigate through – you can search by country, activity and/or cost.  I particularly like the compare facility – I can never make my mind up when presented with many choices and any help is welcomed!

I asked Medina, originally from Kazakhstan but now living in Muscat with her Omani husband, where the idea came from

“we tried booking an adventure for our family, it took me more than a week to check all sources of internet, contact different companies and people, check trip advisor reviews and etc. So i lost my time and patience, and at the end this idea came to me; why not to create a platform where we can link adventure seekers with adventure providers.”

Medina with her husband Usama

But does she have time to try some of the adventures listed on the site?  She says

“I had a difficult type of epilepsy for 13 years, and even medicine couldn’t control it. So i wasn’t permitted to try almost all cool adventures such as diving, parasailing and many others. It was always my dream – but i couldn’t do it. My husband climbed Kilimanjaro and Sailed in Open Ocean for 1 week. Exactly 6 months ago i did a brain surgery in Germany, and now Im 6 month seizure freeeeeee!

 

5 weeks after the surgery me and my husband went white water rafting with crocodiles in Zambia, and i abseiled from Table Mountain in Cape Town,  In 1 month I’m planning to do my 1st Sailing course in Malta.

So i want to say people who have difficult cases such as epilepsy – never to give up!!!”

For adventurers, the benefits are simple.  Adventures and experiences – lots of them – all in one place.  Choose a few then compare them, make your choice and pay by credit card or paypal,  pack and go!

You know where to start looking- www.ub-cool.com!

As a postcript – I was lucky enough to win a fabulous kite-surfing course on Masairah Island in Oman (or in Muscat, depending on season).  Preparing for this adventure might just be an incentive to go and do some weight training!