If you look around Bangkok, you will find very few visible signs of Burma or the Burmese people. There was a gorgeous Burmese restaurant, Mandalay, but the place was always empty except for a few curious foreigners and a Burmese expats. When word leaked that the restaurant had friendly relations with SLORC supporters, it became politically incorrect even for those who had become enamored of one of the best restaurants in the city.

For the world's fair, there was no pavilion from Burma. The fair secretariat kept a dialogue going with several people involved in the Burmese opposition, but countries that are in the midst of a deadly struggle for freedom don't necessarily have time for niceties like world's fair pavilions.

A world's fair for all the globe, however, can't ignore one of the major cultures of the world. As the fair was ending, we went to Bangkok to record a pianist who specializes in traditional Burmese music. Kit Young, an American who has long studied Burmese music, language, and culture, played for us in her home.

Kit played Tei Tat, a classical Burmese song of praise arranged for the piano after an interpretation by Gita Luling Maung KoKo. You can hear Kit's adaptation on Concert in the Park, the audio CD that accompanies this CD-ROM and book. After she played the piece, she spoke a bit about the Tei Tat and the role of the piano in Thai music.