The Lost Nomad points to something I wish I had discovered earlier. BBC reporter Adam Brookes has a sanctioned blog on George Bush’s Asian tour.:

Now, the leaders are heading for their hotels to ready themselves for the “Gala Dinner and Cultural Performance.”

Ah yes, the menu. Scallop and ginseng salad. Chestnut porridge. Beef with pine mushrooms.

Kimchi, the sinus-shattering pickled cabbage.

And a rice wine flavoured with mushrooms - which the teetotal president will presumably avoid.

Saturday will see the uber-pack leave Busan early.

We will miss what must be one of the most mawkish moments of global statesmanship - all 21 Apec leaders must don an article of national dress from the host country. Then they all stand together and have their photo taken.

Here in Busan they will wear the durumagi, a sort of Korean coat decorated with “ancient Korean symbols”.

“It’s a race between the president and Putin to see who can take it off first”, said one White House official.

I don’t expect Bush will be wearing the durumagi much in D.C. or Crawford. I expect he’d prefer the leather bomber jacket and denim shirt that Bill Clinton got at APEC 1997.

Technorati Tags: asia, east asia, media, northeast asia, south korea, korea