WORLD CUP TRAVEL UPDATE This might actually be useful.

Rather than more self-indulgent prattle about men kicking balls, I'll attempt to make this space actually useful.  You see, my obsession with soccer has fostered an obsession with South Africa.  Before 2004 when it was announced they would host the World Cup, I had never really considered it a place I had to go.  South Africa didn't come up all that much growing up in Missouri.  We brushed past it in school—Apartheid, Mandela, Robben Island, here is a picture of a shirtless black child in the middle of a muddy street, South Africa, the end.  And it wasn't as if people in my school were shuffling off to Cape Town for spring break every year.  Missourians, generally, are not the most well traveled people you'll ever meet.  Europe is a stretch.  South Africa is on Mars.  Besides, I'm Chinese; I have my own impoverished homeland with human rights issues to pilgrimage to.  (If I'm rambling, it's all Brad Pitt's fault.  I feel like I have to defend myself for not being previously obsessed with traveling Africa.)

But just as it happened in 2006 with Germany, I have quickly become obsessed.  Thinking constantly about soccer means that I think constantly about the place in which the soccer is occurring.  Now that I have warmed to the idea of going (well, I guess after blogging about it, "warmed" isn't really appropriate; "blowtorched" is more like it), I've delved headlong into the trip planning for our group.  (More on said group later, I'm sure.)  If in the future I ever claim to have taken the lead on the matter out of altruism, know that I will be lying.  Shameless, naked self-interest.  But not in any obvious way; there is no financial gain and the coordination emails are a glutton for my spare time... as are spreadsheet calendars meticulously designed to track the date, fixture, location, tickets and number of people staying at our place.  Certainly, I appreciate that my friends are beneficiaries of my diligence, but honestly it's all for me… so that I can live the World Cup every night from here until landing in Cape Town, so that I can picture the details of my enjoyment beforehand, so that my workday will mean something more than just showing up for the nine hour wait to leave.  And I guess that's kind of why I'm blogging as well; so that I can live it every day thereafter.

To that effect, I have been scouring the internet and wringing my friends of information to fill in the blanks on my scant knowledge of travel in Africa.   I'm what you would call a detail oriented dreamer; if I'm to have an erotic fantasy, I need to first know the thread count of the sheets I'll be rolling around in.  What I have to offer you, my readers and potential World Cup travelers, is the fruits of my rather unhealthy obsession.

Here is the first installment of my travel updates…

Lodging
Note, the exchange rate is about 8R to $1.
If you've just started looking, be warned: take your presumed budget, double it and hope that you can meet it.  After sending out some enquiries to hostels, pensions and budget hotels, the going rate seems to be running around 2-3x peak season rates.  For a night in a hostel dorm room in a centrally located part of Cape Town, for example, that's going to cost around R350-400 (about $45) instead of the usual R150.  Also, if this is the type of lodging you're looking for, I'd act fast.  Of the 5 hostels in Cape Town I contacted, 3 replied that they cannot accommodate me for my request (2 people for June 15-22).  Expect to pay at least R600 per person per night for a private twin room, R900+ for a single.

For this type of lodging, a few sites that will help:
Coasting Africa (thanks for Lauren Levitt for turning me on to this one): Probably the most user friendly resource out there, though unfortunately, you can't  book directly through the site.

HostelCapeTown.com is Hostel World's Cape Town site from which you can actually book.  It yielded some cheap (R200 and under) though not especially well rated places.  Also, there are only a few places that have availability for more than 2 or 3 nights in a row (again, presuming you're traveling with someone) so you might have to bounce around.

Southafricatravel.com is a helpful to an extent but definitely seems like the type of site that's more interested in getting you there to spend your money than providing unbiased advice.

If you're looking for more comfortable lodging, you can do what my group has done which is to secure long term self-catering housing.  For Cape Town, CapeStay is your best option.  Prices are completely dependent on neighborhood: areas on the Atlantic Seaboard nearest the stadium (in Green Point) are the most expensive—Camps Bay, Sea Point, Bakoven, Bantry Bay, Clifton, V&A Waterfront.  Again, the best rule of thumb for this site is to take the quoted rate and double it, though in these neighborhoods you might just want to go ahead and go 3x.  Figures may vary, but here's a ballpark figure from a recent search.  For two weeks in the heart of the Cup, I was quoted R2500 per night for a two bedroom apartment in Sea Point that accommodates four people (that's about $75 a night per person).  Booking typically requires a 30-50% deposit (usually via wire though some take credit).

A more affordable option might be to look to the more distant suburbs for your home base: Hout Bay, Simon's Town, Noordhoek, Fish Hoek, etc.  Fewer apartments, larger houses and for considerably cheaper.  Before we booked our house (a 5 bedroom on the Atlantic Seaboard) I was given pretty decent offers on some large villas (accommodating 6-10) for around R100,000 for the entire month.  If you are traveling in a small group but want to stay in a nicer place, it's probably advisable to a) put a craigslist ad or b) start a comment chain here to make arrangements with other Americans whose plans may coincide with your own.

Of course, these places are further from the action—Simon's Town is a 45min drive to city center—and that brings up the issue of transit…. which I'll get to on another day.

Until then.