Guest guest Posted June 8, 2006 Report Share Posted June 8, 2006 Ummmm, I wouldnt be so sure that Bhutan just kept themselves aloof to keep their land pristine, out of some far-sighted altruism. I seem to remember persecution of ethnic nepalis who are considered to be second rate citizens, or non-citizens, which was happening fairly recently, if not still. Dont know the whole history though. Also, its not exactly easy for any non-Bhutanese to actually visit Bhutan, either. I think a certain " better than everybody else " ethic might be operating there too. But, yes, I agree that it certainly looks beautiful. My two cents. Lea. , Joseph Garner <jhgarner_1 wrote: > > Doug, > I double-checked myself to make sure I wasn't hallucinating and looked at his website, www.dragonherbs.com, and his name is spelled as I have spelled it--Teeguarden, for what it's worth. And I'm not necessarily a " fan " of his, either, but I do think he puts out the best quality supplementing herbs he can get his hands on. > > By the way, he says in his latest newsletter that he and a consortium of fellow foreigners have been chosen by the Bhutanese government to be the first foreigners allowed to export Bhutanese herbs. He says Bhutan has traditionally been the source of herbs for Tibetan medicine because of their superb quality and incredible diversity of plant life. Bhutan has kept itself out of world affairs for centuries, not because they were pissed off at the world like Myanmar (Burma) or thought they were better than the rest of us like the Japanese and Chinese did, but because they wanted to keep their land pristine, and as far as I can tell it is the most pristine land left on earth. I saw a show about it on TV years ago, and I was amazed. It has tropical jungles, lush farmlands, Himalayan peaks and mighty glacier-fed rivers, with plant and animal life in great abundance--everything but deserts and ocean. I suspect we are going to be hearing a lot about herbs from Bhutan in times to > come. > Joseph > > wrote: > BTW: it is spelled simply Ron Teagarden. > > doug > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 9, 2006 Report Share Posted June 9, 2006 From what I've heard from friends in Nepal, Bhutan is starting to loosen and open up. Maybe the king's trying to earn some money. So this herbal venture may be an example of this. They do actually allow tourism now, although I think it's still state controlled. When I looked into going several years ago, it was something like a flat $200 per person per day rate all inclusive. And at that time they still had a national dress code! How's that for centralized power? --Sarah Rivkin , " Lea Starck " <leabun1 wrote: > > Ummmm, I wouldnt be so sure that Bhutan just kept themselves aloof > to keep their land pristine, out of some far-sighted altruism. I > seem to remember persecution of ethnic nepalis who are considered to > be second rate citizens, or non-citizens, which was happening fairly > recently, if not still. Dont know the whole history though. Also, > its not exactly easy for any non-Bhutanese to actually visit Bhutan, > either. I think a certain " better than everybody else " ethic might > be operating there too. But, yes, I agree that it certainly looks > beautiful. > My two cents. > Lea. > > , Joseph Garner > <jhgarner_1@> wrote: > > > > Doug, > > I double-checked myself to make sure I wasn't hallucinating and > looked at his website, www.dragonherbs.com, and his name is spelled > as I have spelled it--Teeguarden, for what it's worth. And I'm not > necessarily a " fan " of his, either, but I do think he puts out the > best quality supplementing herbs he can get his hands on. > > > > By the way, he says in his latest newsletter that he and a > consortium of fellow foreigners have been chosen by the Bhutanese > government to be the first foreigners allowed to export Bhutanese > herbs. He says Bhutan has traditionally been the source of herbs for > Tibetan medicine because of their superb quality and incredible > diversity of plant life. Bhutan has kept itself out of world affairs > for centuries, not because they were pissed off at the world like > Myanmar (Burma) or thought they were better than the rest of us like > the Japanese and Chinese did, but because they wanted to keep their > land pristine, and as far as I can tell it is the most pristine land > left on earth. I saw a show about it on TV years ago, and I was > amazed. It has tropical jungles, lush farmlands, Himalayan peaks and > mighty glacier-fed rivers, with plant and animal life in great > abundance--everything but deserts and ocean. I suspect we are going > to be hearing a lot about herbs from Bhutan in times to > > come. > > Joseph > > > > <taiqi@> wrote: > > BTW: it is spelled simply Ron Teagarden. > > > > doug > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 9, 2006 Report Share Posted June 9, 2006 Sarah, Your information fits with my impressions of what little I know of Bhutan. It feels to me as though the government sees their country as a kind of outsized Buddhist monastery with the king as the abbot--a self-styled benevolent despot whose people all dress much alike, as monks do, and where everybody obeys the rules relatively willingly, as monks do. A very different worldview than our own system stems from, but it seems to work for them. Whatever their motivations in keeping their country withdrawn from the world, no doubt it has not been out of pure altruism since humans everywhere are essentially the same cussed bunch. But the results have been a land of astonishing diversity in flora and fauna kept basically untouched by modern ecological destruction. Doug, no wonder you thought Teeguarden was spelled Teagarden due to your experience. To others who know the price of quality supplementing herbs gotten from Chinese sources better than I do, I'm sure you know better whether Teeguarden's prices are exorbitant or not. Again, everyone's first reaction is about the $350 ginseng, but that is greatly out of line with the prices of the mass of things he sells, though they are all on the pricey side at least somewhat. I do think his herb quality level is high in any case, whether his prices are justified or not. I would like to know if anyone else can verify his information about the " di dao " business. Does the Chinese government really have a program whereby they assign official locations to where the best Chinese herbs come from? For example, the " di dao " location for ginseng, according to Teeguarden, is not just Manchuria but the Changbai Mountains in Manchuria, if I spelled that right. If this is all true, is there a way to get the " di dao " list? Joseph Garner Sarah Rivkin <saydit wrote: From what I've heard from friends in Nepal, Bhutan is starting to loosen and open up. Maybe the king's trying to earn some money. So this herbal venture may be an example of this. They do actually allow tourism now, although I think it's still state controlled. When I looked into going several years ago, it was something like a flat $200 per person per day rate all inclusive. And at that time they still had a national dress code! How's that for centralized power? --Sarah Rivkin , " Lea Starck " <leabun1 wrote: > > Ummmm, I wouldnt be so sure that Bhutan just kept themselves aloof > to keep their land pristine, out of some far-sighted altruism. I > seem to remember persecution of ethnic nepalis who are considered to > be second rate citizens, or non-citizens, which was happening fairly > recently, if not still. Dont know the whole history though. Also, > its not exactly easy for any non-Bhutanese to actually visit Bhutan, > either. I think a certain " better than everybody else " ethic might > be operating there too. But, yes, I agree that it certainly looks > beautiful. > My two cents. > Lea. > > , Joseph Garner > <jhgarner_1@> wrote: > > > > Doug, > > I double-checked myself to make sure I wasn't hallucinating and > looked at his website, www.dragonherbs.com, and his name is spelled > as I have spelled it--Teeguarden, for what it's worth. And I'm not > necessarily a " fan " of his, either, but I do think he puts out the > best quality supplementing herbs he can get his hands on. > > > > By the way, he says in his latest newsletter that he and a > consortium of fellow foreigners have been chosen by the Bhutanese > government to be the first foreigners allowed to export Bhutanese > herbs. He says Bhutan has traditionally been the source of herbs for > Tibetan medicine because of their superb quality and incredible > diversity of plant life. Bhutan has kept itself out of world affairs > for centuries, not because they were pissed off at the world like > Myanmar (Burma) or thought they were better than the rest of us like > the Japanese and Chinese did, but because they wanted to keep their > land pristine, and as far as I can tell it is the most pristine land > left on earth. I saw a show about it on TV years ago, and I was > amazed. It has tropical jungles, lush farmlands, Himalayan peaks and > mighty glacier-fed rivers, with plant and animal life in great > abundance--everything but deserts and ocean. I suspect we are going > to be hearing a lot about herbs from Bhutan in times to > > come. > > Joseph > > > > <taiqi@> wrote: > > BTW: it is spelled simply Ron Teagarden. > > > > doug > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.