The FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa promises to be  another sporting spectacular when it kicks off on June 11.

There are now under 100 days before the FIFA World Cup 2010 starts.  There are 32 countries from every continent (except for Antarctica!) competing for one sport’s ultimate prizes.  You can check out the official FIFA World Cup 2010 website for more info on fixtures.

So instead of trying to be a Football expert and predict the winner, I’ve compiled a list of some of the Funny or Offbeat Travel things to do and see for each of the 32 Competing Nations.

Here we go:

Group A

South Africa (RSA) – The host nation! Make a phone call from the Sea Container Phone Box in Soweto

Mexico (MEX) - Visit Santa Muerte, or Saint Death in Mexico City.

Uruguay (URU) - Marvel at the South American Football Sandcastles on the beach at Colonia, Uruguay

France (FRA) - Go to the stadium where France made the 2010 World Cup by using the ‘Hand of Frog’.  This is the Irish version of events!

Group B

Argentina (ARG) - Eat a tonne of steak and check out the 60 kg beef diet per capita per year.

Nigeria (NGA) - Visit Email scam headquarters that send you that annoying spam about depositing 27 million dollars in your bank account – and get them back!

South Korea (KOR) - Check out the lack of English Translation quality assurance on the clothing.

Greece (GRE) – Organise a helicopter to escape from prison.

Group C

England (ENG) – Stay at the Holiday Inn to experience their Human Bed Warmers.

United States (USA) - Eat at the Heart Attack Grill in Arizona.

Algeria (ALG) – Eat what you think is beef meat which has been dodgily substituted by donkey.

Slovenia (SVN) – Learn how kids are toilet trained in school.

Group D

Germany (GER) - Buy a pothole near Leipzig.

Australia (AUS) - Check out the Cockroach Races in Brisbane.

Serbia (SRB) – Fail an alcohol breath test.

Ghana (GHA) – Check out the preaching on public transport

Group E

Netherlands (NED) – Go on a Beer Bike Ride!

Denmark (DEN) - Steal a boat after a big night on the town – and try rowing to Sweden!

Japan (JPN) - Check out the humourous Engrish signs!

Cameroon (CMR) – Try and go and see a movie at the cinema – only to discover they’re all closed because it’s cheaper to watch television or pirated DVDs.

Group F

Italy (ITA) – Visit the stuffed pigs at the Casa Del Formaggio, Florence.

Paraguay (PAR) - Take part in a rather large 30,000 kilogram barbeque.

New Zealand (NZL) - Visit the Shoe Fence.

Slovakia (SVK) – Have a chat to the small town mayor who wants to build a 33 metre high Jesus statue.

Group G

Brazil (BRA) - Cover yourself in mud in the Bloco de Lama Festival.

North Korea (PRK) - Compare the real Kim Jong Il to the one portrayed in Team America, World Police!

Ivory Coast (CIV) – Win a house because you’ve shunned the notion of Africa Time and decide to be punctual.

Portugal (POR) – You can go to the Paper Festival in Portugal.

Group H

Spain (ESP) - Visit the buskers in La Rambla, Barcelona.  There’s all sorts of crackpots there trying to score an income from Euro shrapnel by passing tourists.

Switzerland (SUI) – Win an IgNobel Award because you’ve come up with a study to determine whether an empty beer bottle does more or less damage to the human skull than a full one in a bar fight.

Honduras (HON) – Eat part of a 150 metre long sandwich.

Chile (CHI) - Have a caffeine hit at Cafe Con Piernas – Coffee with Legs.  Like going to a strip joint at 9am in the morning.  Basically, you are served coffee by ladies in skimpy clothing !

There you go, there is the FIFA World Cup 2010 list of Funny and Offbeat Travel things to do!

If you’re only interested in Football, then I’d suggest checking out World Cup 2010: The Indispensable Guide to Soccer and Geopolitics, All the Goals of FIFA World Cup 2006 or maybe buy a World Cup 2010 Soccer Ball.

The Marula Tree.

It’s a tree native to southern Africa, and is used in the fermentation of the national liqueur of South Africa called Amarula.  Amarula is milky liqueur similar to Bailey’s Irish Cream, but it does have its own unique taste.  I quite like it.  It’s best served on ice, and it’s a nice dessert type drink.  Actually, pour some over a bit of vanilla ice cream for something different, or use it in an alcoholic thickshake.

Amarula is also used in the South African national shot called the ‘Springbok’, which I’ve listed in my 52 Weird Food and Drink Facts.  As mentioned in this list, the main danger of the Springbok is the actual drinking ritual, not the Amarula itself.

However, becoming drunk on fermented Marula fruit is not the exclusive domain of humans – other members of the animal kingdom can often participate in the drunken festivities.

I’ve included a video here shot in the 1970’s of animals allegedly becoming drunk after eating fermented Marula fruit.  Yes, it involves staggering African animals that look like most pissheads after having one too many in the local pub.

However, there is some debate about whether this video is fake (or staged) or real.  For example, I’m thinking that an elephant would have to eat an enormous amount of fermented Marula fruit to become completely rat-arsed (this means drunk).  Can you imagine what an elephant’s hangover would be like?

Unfortunately, there are no kebab stands in the African bush to satisfy those Marula after-booze-up munchies.  That would drive me insane.  I live on kebabs after a big night out drinking.

Anyway, even if it’s fake, it’s still funny!  Enjoy the Marula drunk animal video.

You can read more at Muthi and Myths of the African Bush: From the African Bush and Umthi We Marula/The Marula Tree.

Other things to do in South Africa after eating Marula fruit – make a Phone Call from Soweto or buy an traditional African Mask infested with bugs.

Quarantine is a fact of life for Australian travellers.

Anyone who has come through Border Security would have been subjected to the intense interrogation procedures regarding the importation of any food stuffs.  You might think there are heavier penalties for smuggling salami than hard drugs!

Even though I’m usually shopping-adverse, I do buy the odd curio overseas to take home.  I especially like African Tribal Masks.  In 2002, I bought myself a Zulu mask in Durban, South Africa.  Loads of people buy wooden articles to display in their house, and this often makes good dinner party conversation when guests spot them on the wall.

I’ve shown this African Tribal Mask below:

Unfortunately, I found out more than a year later it housed a number of ‘boxwood borer’ insects that escaped through the eye and mouth, leaving fine sawdust on my hallway table.  I’ve included photos of the holes left by the insects below.  I called the Quarantine service straight away when I found out.

(holes are in top left and bottom right corners)

However, they didn’t get far.  My contingency was not cleaning my house thoroughly, so an extremely well-placed cobweb suffocated the newly-hatched bugs.

Anyway, the moral of the story?  If you buy a wooden object overseas, do your own Quarantine – place it in the freezer for a couple of days when you get home.  Sometimes, insect larvae can live within a wooden mask for months after you buy it.  Freezing the wooden article kills the larvae, and ensures that you don’t bring in another biological disaster home.

So that’s why Quarantine matters!

In this particular case, the boxwood borer had already invaded Australia!  I called Quarantine to inspect the mask, and they advised me about the freezing technique.

This was one of my 52 Perfect Offbeat Travel Tips post that I sent out a while ago!  So the next time you buy something wooden overseas, have a think about Quarantine!

This Offbeat Travel Photo gives new meaning to the term ‘Phone Box!’

It was spotted on a drive around SoWeTo (short for South West Township) on the outskirts of Johannesburg in South Africa.

Basically, this Public Phone facility is an old shipping container an enterprising individual has converted into a multi-user telecommunications hub rivalling the largest call centres in the world!

India, watch out!

ET Phone Home from Soweto…

There’s more to Public Phone Boxes in Soweto.  Check out Soweto Inside Out.