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Fact file: The Vuvuzela – part of the indigenous culture of South African soccer – has been given the blessing by FIFA. The Vuvuzela is allowed to stay and will be blown in all the stadiums and fan parks.


Making a noise with regards to football varies from continent to continent. If you have seen ‘Green Street Hooligans’ then you will know that the British take their support of the sport to a whole new level. So it comes with great relief to learn that security is being bumped up considerably now – from the very start of the process to presence at the actual games. South Africa has signed a memorandum with the United Kingdom which involves sharing intelligence. This will start at boarding ports overseas and will prevent deranged fans from even getting on a plane, which is great. Fans we like. Deranged ones we can do without.

Other great ways of making a noise would be coverage. It will have come as music to many ears to learn that the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ is headed to iPhone with an April 30 release date to the App Store. There are very definitely new features and ways to stretch this event as far as possible. And if you don’t have an iPhone, don’t worry, just make sure you have a Vuvuzela – readily available in South Africa. Another great reason to be here!

Muzi Mohale

Fact file: Scotland holds the record for the most consecutive World Cup first-round eliminations: 1954, 1958, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990 and 1998.

While our focus on why it is good to be in South Africa might not align itself with Oscar nods or media attention on our president and his junior, the 2010 World Cup is enough to keep our spirits up – proving that the dream is indeed, still alive. They say that we can expect over 10 million tourists to South Africa this year – outside of the 450 000 for the World Cup alone. That is a lot of interest, money and exposure and we can work to leverage that to the long-term benefit of our country. For an industry that shrank 4 percent last year, this is no doubt great news! We have the countryside, we have the vibe, and we even have the moves.

We also have the weather – which puts more smiles on more faces for tourism on the whole. We see the sun almost all year round, we are not at major risk of a tsunami or devastating earthquakes, and despite Bafana Bafana’s draw against Namibia, we can argue that we have a better track record than Scotland. We can confidently say that we are ticking more and more boxes, with every day we get closer to why it is we are in the spotlight – and why it is we should be chuffed as a nation – period.

- Muzi Mohale

Today is the kick off of the 100-day countdown for the World Cup 2010! What does this mean? For the first time in history an African country is to host the FIFA World Cup. It marks another epic happening in the history of South Africa.

There are so many reasons to be in South Africa right now. Would you agree there is something contagious about things that change? Just like we as humans change, nations change. When we put those two together big things happen. The world’s eyes are on South Africa, and each of us have the chance to be part of raising the new image of South Africa.

At Travelstart we genuinely love change. In 2006 there was still no online travel agency (OTA) in South Africa, e-commerce was lacking years behind. Despite technical and infrastructural challenges, we decided to open up South Africa’s first OTA that year. What drives us is to see the change in people’s behavior when they realize things don’t have to be done they way they always have. We are super pumped and stoked about the changes that the World Cup is bringing and the how it will further our growth as a country and an economy to count on.

100 days left people! Every day we will post something here on the World Cup, we will use the word till our ears are bleeding. You game? Go get that Vuvuzela! 

The Winter Olympics have begun in Vancouver, the home town of this Travelstart blogger. 

The games opening ceremonies this week became the most watched television event in Canadian history, and it's estimated that more than 2 billion people around the world tuned in to watch the ceremonies. As a Canadian I really enjoyed the opening ceremonies, which celebrated Canada's diversity, in particular the various peoples who now call Canada home.  

The games are actually taking place in several venues in the metropolitan area, including downtown Vancouver, a southern district called Richmond, and then in Whistler, which is roughly 120km north of downtown Vancouver. Whistler is home to North America's largest ski resort, Whistler Blackcomb. The weather has been remarkably mild of late, but the games should be able to proceed without problems nonetheless.  

The first medals have already been handed out, and we have close to two weeks of competitions remaining. The buzz throughout the city is remarkable - everyone you meet has caught the Olympic fever!

I'd like to extend congratulations to two South African competitors - Peter Scott, who has qualified in alpine skiing, and Oliver Kraas, who will compete in cross-country skiing. Perhaps they can bring home a medal for their native country!

(photo of Olympic Opening Ceremony courtesy of Canucks Hockey Blog) 

The truth is, South Africa has criminals - like every country in the world. However, if you behave street smart, you can reduce your chances of becoming a victim of crime while you are in South Africa for the 2010 Soccer World Cup. Please follow these snippets of advice:

• Book your accommodation at a reputable guesthouse
• Book your airport and soccer stadium transfers with a reputable shuttle service
• Plan outings to outside the city or book with a tour/safari operator
• Drive with windows closed and valuables out of sight
• Don't open your window at robots (traffic lights)
• Leave your Rolex at home or in a safe at the guesthouse if you go to a soccer match
• Keep a limited amount of cash in your wallet
• Keep your wallet in a pocket that closes with a button or that is really deep
• Don't accept a lift with strangers - rather spring the extra bucks and take a taxi (and I don't mean an informal minibus taxi)
• Avoid wandering off into dark streets with little pedestrian traffic
• Keep your cellphone safely hidden away
• When paying with your credit card at a restaurant (or anywhere else) - walk with if they don't have a mobile card machine
• When drawing money from an ATM, keep your pin to yourself

Keep numbers close:

• Put the police emergency number 10111 close
• Keep your medical aid details with you - always

The 2010 Winter Olympics will kick off in Vancouver in less than a month.  

The official dates are February 12-28, 2010, with events taking place in both Vancouver and Whistler, Canada. 

Close to 100 countries are expected to participate in the games, including South Africa. Participants will compete in 86 sports - sports that take place on either ice or snow, like hockey, skating, skiing, and luge. (If you don't know what luge is, I strongly recommend you watch it!)

One of the symbolic traditions of the games is the Olympic Torch Relay, and the lighting of the Olympic flame that takes place at the opening ceremony.  For these Olympics, the flame was lit in Olympia Greece in October 2009, and by next week, will have travelled over 45,000 kilometres in just over 100 days. It will be carried by approximately 12,000 Canadians as it makes its way across the host country. 

The Vancouver 2010 Olympics kick off what's to be an exciting year of global, international events, which also include the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, and the World Expo in Shanghai.

(photo courtesy of TheCureMX)

For the past three years, an outdoor skating rink has been built each winter in Mexico City's Zocalo, or Main Square. Average temperatures in the city range from 7-23 celsius this time of year. 

This novelty is ridiculously popular with locals, and a queue can be found from opening to closing every day. (10am to 10pm)  Due to popularity, skaters are given a 45 minute time limit.

The ice surface is known as one of the largest in the world, and is most likely the largest ice surface close to the equator. 

Skating here is free of charge, a project sponsored by the local government to make Mexico City "more fun." Mexico is of course not known for its winter sport activities. In fact, Mexico is North American's most popular winter vacation spot, a place to get away from the cold winters in the North. 

The Zocalo rink is open for one month per year - from December 7 to January 7.  It can accommodate more than 1,200 skaters at one time.  

Red, red cars with wild stallions – that is what Maranello is known for.  This is town houses Ferrari’s headquarters and sports many Ferrari shops.

You might not be able to get a tour of the factory (unless you own a Ferrari and a dealership organizes it for you, but visit the Galleria Ferrari.

The Galleria Ferrari boasts historic and new Ferrari's - definitely worth the visit.

 (photo courtesy of warrenski)

In case you missed it, an estimated 200 million people from around the globe tuned into the FIFA World Cup Draw Ceremony and celebration, taking place December 4th at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. 

What a show Cape Town, and South Africa, put on for the television audience! Kicking off with a speech from the now 91-year old Nelson Mandela, who urged the country to "strive for excellence in our hosting of the World Cup, while at the same time ensuring the event leaves a lasting benefit to all our people." Several outstanding musical performances ensued, and the official mascot, Zakumi, even made a guest appearance!

The draw was hosted and performed by South African actress Charlize Theron (wearing a stunning red dress), along with the FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke. As they drew team/country names, people around the world sat on the edge of their seats, in anticipation for who their favorite team will be grouped with. Theron also introduced the official match ball that will be used in in 2010.  

For those not lucky enough to attend in person, there was tons of action nearby, with a free street party and festival taking place on Long Street, featuring tons of music and performing artists.  

In case you missed it, below are the groupings for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. 

2010 FIFA World Cup Draw

Group A: France, Mexico, South Africa, Uruguay

Group B: Argentina, Greece, Nigeria, South Korea

Group C: Algeria, England, Slovenia, United States

Group D: Australia, Germany, Ghana, Serbia

Group E: Cameroon, Denmark, Japan, Netherlands

Group F: Italy, New Zealand, Paraguay, Slovakia

Group G: Brazil, Ivory Coast, North Korea, Portugal

Group H: Chile, Honduras, Spain, Switzerland

World Cup fever has officially begun. Every football fan on the planet is talking about the 2010 World Cup today.  

If anyone was there at the festivities, I'd love to hear your comments!

Jakob, Travelstart's media manager, got married in August (congrats again Jake!). Below you can read about his honeymoon adventures in the Maldives. Drop a comment if you have questions for Jake or just want to wish him good luck!

My wife and I got married a month ago and decided  to do the trip of our lives. We both like action sports and to be active on our holidays, rather than just laying on a tropical beach and drink cocktails all day.. That can be nice too, but we decided to go on a surf trip!  

When surfing becomes the main purpose for the trip the criteria differ a bit from what a normal holiday would do, and factors such as wave quality, crowd (number of surfers) and distance to local surf spots becomes the most important values.   However, we did also want a bit of the traditional values such as nice weather, blue skies and a feeling of luxury (this was our honeymoon after all).   

We found this awesome five star yacht called Ocean Dancer that focus on surf and diving in the Maldives. We stayed on the boat for one week and scored the best waves in our life at famous reef breaks such as Jail breaks, Chickens, Sultans and many other well known Maldivian wave spots. We spent the second week at a resort called Anantara that is absolutely idyllic. They have seven restaurants with fantastic food from different parts of the world. They also have a sport centre where they arrange surf, dive and snorkel trips. You can also rent jetskies and do wakeboard/waterskis and much more.  

I loved Maldives with its crystal clear water that holds 28 C year round and perfect waves May through October. I will let the pictures tell the rest of the story.  

For more info, visit:

Ocean Dancer

Anantara Dhigu Resort

 

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