A fisherman casts his line in Moscow River, covered in frosty fog, with the air temperature at about -13 degrees Celsius (8.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in Moscow November 29, 2010. Photo: Denis Sinyakov, via: Reuters

Performers take part in the closing ceremony of the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, November 27, 2010. Photo: Jason Lee via: Reuters

Image: Chris Watt

Throw in thousands of merry revellers welcoming in the New Year, and you’ve got a night you won’t forget.

The opening event of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay 2011 is the famed Torchlight Procession on Thursday 30th December. Here you can join tens of thousands of torch carriers as they create a river of fire from the historic Royal Mile to the Son et Lumiére and fireworks finale on Calton Hill.

Image: Peter Sandground

Once you’ve warmed up to the atmosphere on Thursday evening, take a spin around the city to enjoy one of the many restaurants and pubs within easy walking distance of the procession. Ooh.com recommends Chez Jules for no-nonsense French cuisine and the famously grimy Tron pub to catch some of Edinburgh’s buzzing live music and comedy. Make sure you get some sleep though, Friday’s gonna be a long day.

Friday 31st features the main events of the festival, kicking off with the Hogmanay Concert in the Gardens set beneath Edinburgh Castle. Both Scottish Rock giants Biffy Clyro and the indie legends The Charlatans will be playing at the concert in the garden this year and the concert will build up to the world-renowned midnight fireworks spectacular, welcoming in the New Year.

Getting there:
Find out how to get there on the Homanay Website, here.

Get your tickets:
- Online at www.edinburghshogmanay.com
- By calling Edinburgh’s Hogmanay Box Office on 0844 894 2011

So get yourself and your mates set up to join one of the world’s most envied New Year’s celebrations!

Since you’ve got a while to wait until you enjoy those tickets, you could use Ooh.com to find and book activities directly with their sellers all over the UK. And the rest of the world!

Aymara musicians in Uyuni, southern Bolivia, listen to a speech by President Evo Morales during a ceremony held as part of the ‘Bolivia Changes, Evo Fulfils’ government programme. Photo: Juan Karita, Via: Guardian

Nearest listing currently on Ooh.com: Trek Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, Peru with Andean Trails

Over the weekend, Captains Howard and Margie Ochstein decided to show anyone looking for cool things to do on Ooh.com, the real sailing deal: an easygoing live-aboard, learn-to-sail trip for couples.

The Coast Guard licensed captains, will polish your yachting skills and teach you and your partner about sailing, anchoring, docking and boat systems. All skill levels will be catered for.

The emphasis is on working together as a team, which makes this the best couple’s therapy around. Aside from the sailing bit, you’ll be exploring tropical islands, snorkeling and socialising with other cruisers – a learning holiday at its best. All meals are included, so you’ll also enjoy plenty of fresh seafood and tropical drinks.

For more information and to book, click here.

Here’s some inspiration to get you “sailing away”:

If you have a sea sickness inclination, we suggest you stay on the ground (or up in the air!). People have listed motorbike tours, flying lessons, skiing trips and horse riding holidays on Ooh.com so have a browse and find something you’d love to try.

Susie and Friends 2008 – Alex Prager

MoMa’s annual photography exhibition opened September 29 and  runs until January 10, so there’s plenty of time to catch America’s latest creative talents. The photographers’ various works dilute the conventional definitions of photography, spilling out into fashion, film, and print media. The result? Sexy specimens of pop culture, still life compositions and manipulated promotional posters.

Woman (Camera) 2010 – Elad Lassry

Elad Lassry’s pop culture subjects mimic commercial photography and his work prints never exceed the dimensions of a magazine page. Expect double exposures, an occasional blur, or the superimposition of multiple negatives, breaking the photos away from traditional editorial forms.

Untitled Detail (Atmosphere) 2007 – Amanda Ross-Ho

Inspired by the artist’s studio, Amanda Ross-Ho’s installations include old memorabilia, collage and any tools that can be recycled from this creative space. Family structure is a recurring theme, as is seizing the contemporary zeitgeist.

Old Fruit 2010 – Roe Ethridge

Roe Ethridge’s “editorial mood” shots are laid out in a non-narrative linear structure, using visual fugues to play with the photo’s original meaning. Examples include a superimposed image of a plain white plate on a checkered Comme des Garçons scarf.

Desiree 2008 – Alex Prager

Alex Prager’s pulp fiction-style photographs highlight the ever-present marriage between fashion and the cinema. Resembling movie stills, women in wigs, strong lipstick and 1970’s outfits are shot in dramatic settings. A favourite is the pastiche of Tippi Hedren in Hitchcock’s The Birds.

For more details about New Photography 2010, click here.

For other events, courses, tours, trips and general fun things to do check out Ooh.com. Over 3700 sellers have listed their activities, and they’re just waiting for you to book them.

You can now publish and advertise events or activities on Ooh.com which are free for people to attend. (Yes, it’s still free for you to publish them!) For example, you might run a trendy East End Gallery and have an open night you want to advertise. It’s free to attend and you want as many people to come as possible.

With our new free event listing option, you can create a great looking Ooh listing, including photos, description, youtube clips and a time and date, then you can share it on Facebook, Twitter, Digg and email it out to your friends.

If you want to limit the number of spaces available (you might not have an endless wine budget after all), people who want to come can message you to request an invitation, right from your listing.

So, whether you want to advertise a free gallery opening, a free lecture, food tasting, photo walk, food foraging trip, village fair or any other activity or event taking place at a set time, you can now advertise it on Ooh.com. Oh yeah, and creating the listing – that’s free too.

To get started, click here to register for your free account on Ooh.com.

Trade your Boris bike for a high quality Giant touring bike with 27 gears, equipped with everything you need to tour the Lot Valley- the southwest region of France – and set off to discover chateaux, hill-top castles and intriguing medieval towns.

During the week-long holiday you’ll be staying in an 18th century converted barn, having breakfast and dinner cooked for you. For lunch you’ll be able to explore the local cuisine yourself  (just imagine all the poule au pot or duck confit you’ll be able to eat). Needless to say, there will be plenty of wine too.

Lot Cycling Holidays is a family business, and with 3 years of running these trips, you can expect to meet a team of biking experts. They’re really passionate about what they do and say ”It has long been our ambition to actually do something for a living that we really enjoy and now we are!”. Seems like a lucky Lot.

To book this trip and find out more, click here.

Want to find more things to do? We suggest you check out Ooh.com. Sellers are offering more than 3700 unique activities & fun things to do, so start your search now.

A favourite adventurer of ours is Alastair Humphreys, who has recently returned from an unsupported crossing of Iceland with his photographer mate Chris Herwig.  Carrying 40kg packs containing all of the food they needed, camping gear, and equipment for both glacier crossing and packrafting, Alistair and Chris crossed Iceland, trekking inland from Iceland’s north coast and then paddling the length of Iceland’s longest river to the Southern coast and Atlantic Ocean.

Here Alistair shares with us his top ten highs and lows of their 24 day trip.

1. Discovering that one of the most varied, deserted, beautiful wildernesses I have ever been to is only 3 hours away from London with Iceland Express.

2. Carrying 25 days of food meant serious rationing. Eating just 2000 calories a day meant that I was permanently very hungry.

3. Getting up close to Eyjafjallajökull volcano which caused such chaos earlier this year.

4. On the rare occasions when it was not raining or very windy, clouds of flies would rise from nowhere and fly into our noses, ears, eyes, and mouth.

5. The sources of the two rivers we paddled: one flowing out from beneath a glacier, the other gushing boiling hot from the side of a volcano.

6. Trekking hundreds of miles carrying a brutally heavy (40kg) backpack.

7. Inflating  the packrafts and beginning to paddle downstream. Fun, fast, and no more carrying  those heavy packs!

8. Capsizing in major whitewater rapids in the depths of a canyon. And later realising that my waterproof video camera had not even recorded the drama!

9. Wallowing in a hot spring beneath the midnight sun.

10. Seeing the river in front of us open out into the brown waves of the Atlantic Ocean: the end of a successful, exciting, fascinating journey across Iceland.

Read Alistair’s brilliantly entertaining full diary of his Icelandic adventure and I challenge you not to want to experience the 4-day Laugavegur trek (which he undertakes as part of this trip) for yourself. Iceland looks incredible.

Fancy an adventure of your own? – have a look on Ooh.com for everything you might need – from courses in mountaineering and navigational skills to fully guided tours and treks.

In honour of Steve McCurry’s ongoing career retrospective in Birmingham, we thought we’d share this beautiful photo from his Japan 2007 collection as our photo of the day. Source: Steve McCurry