Or, the Trans-Mongolian route as it were…

1. Get Cultured – Take in a ballet at the Bolshoi in Moscow, a throat singing performance in Mongolia or a Chinese opera. A little too classy for ya? Then sing along to accordion music in a Russian pub, try a hit of snuff with your hosts in the Gobi Desert or show off your dancing skills on a Saturday morning in a Beijing park.

2. Challenge Yourself– Throw yourself into an environment where you don’t know the language, can’t read street signs or a menu and have to navigate through two continents. Sink or swim little fish.

3. Personal Growth– Cheese-ball I know, but see #2. If you can overcome the challenges of this trip, there’s no way you’ll go home without having gleaned some wisdom about yourself.

4. Become a Vodka Shot Pro– You will take many, many shots and you will develop mad skills.

5. Embrace Mother Russia – You might have learned about Russian history at some point in school, but (if you’re like me) you really didn’t learn jack. Russia gets a bad rap, but this journey will be a first-hand re-education about a nation whose actions helped shape the world we live in today. Plus, you’ll get chills just from standing in Red Square.

6. Try New Cuisine – Ever wondered what mutton tastes like? Craved a feast of traditional Peking duck with plum sauce? Wanted to try a Cowberry smoothy? (Ever even heard of Cowberries before?) Expand your mind and your palate.

7. Make Kick-Ass Friends – When you’re on a train for days on end, confined to your sleeping car and the dining car, you will make fast friends. Russians who want practice their English and share their culture (#4 like whoa) and travelers from all over the world who you can commiserate with about how loudly your cabin-mate snores.

8. Enjoy a Slice of Humble Pie – Not everyone has the luxury of gallivanting around the world and traveling. Just the same, not everyone has the luxury of running water or electricity or even their own freedom. Witnessing this first-hand is an education for sure.

9. Find Inner Peace – Or something like that. Ever have that feeling like you’re just a small fish in a big pond? See how you feel when that pond is the expanses of the Gobi Desert. Try a minimalist lifestyle, chant with monks, embrace isolation. Namaste.

10. Try a New Mode of Transportation – Train, bus, hydrofoil, cab, alpine roller coaster, bike, personal driver, ferry, minivan, shuttle, horse, ski lift, camel, tram, subway,  rickshaw. Take your pick.

*BONUS – it will be the journey of a lifetime. And that’s reason enough!