We can email you a detailed version of this itinerary. Click here. Email your friend a detailed version of this itinerary. Click here. Click here to receive, by mail, R. Crusoe’s Travel Journal.

iddhartha Guatama—you might know him as Lord Buddha—began teaching the way to enlightenment about 2,500 years ago. Today Buddhism is the world's fourth-largest organized religion. There are more than 360 million adherents spread around the world. Which is exactly where we go, via private jet, in search of our very own knowledge.

Begin in Xian, China, once a metropolis on a par with Rome and Constantinople. At the 13-tiered Famen Temple we have an introduction to classical Chinese Buddhist architecture. While we're here, check into Chinese traditional medicine with the Shaolin monks and see Emperor Qin Shi Huang's 2,200-year-old terracotta army.

To Japan, where Kyoto and Nara capture the essence of Zen Buddhism. Geishas hurry off to appointments. Ancient temples and shrines stand as they have for centuries.

Mongolia beckons. Land of Genghis Khan and his noble horse, the takhi. Step inside Gandan Monastery, the most important in Mongolia and sole survivor of the political upheaval of the 1930s. And we can't miss the dinosaur hall of the Natural History Museum in Ulaanbaatar, while we're here. Finish up by experiencing life on the Gobi Desert (at times, atop a camel, of course).

Not too long ago, the Kingdom of Bhutan opened its doors to a very limited number of visitors. This is the perfect time to go: King Wangchuck plans to step down from the throne and turn the country over to a just-forming democratic government within two years. Meet this extremely traditional Buddhist population before things go 21st-century.

On to India's most sacred cities—Bodh Gaya, Varanasi, Sarnath, and Sanchi. In Bodh Gaya, Buddha attained enlightenment; in Varanasi, Hindus purify themselves in the sacred Ganges; in Sarnath, Lord Buddha delivered his first sermon (the city's still central to the Buddhist religion); and in Sanchi, find one of Buddhism's oldest structures, the Great Stupa (first century B.C.).

Into Cambodia, where Angkor defies description. You simply have to see this immense temple complex to know what we mean.

If the name "Vietnam" gives you chills, never mind. Today it is a warm and wonderful destination. In Danang, learn about the Cham people and their Hindu ways. Practice walking meditation at Hue's Tu Hien Pagoda. And in a 400-year-old pagoda, sit down to a vegetarian meal and discuss Buddhism with the resident nuns.

Laos is a magical country, one of the most serene we've ever visited. We spend our time in the capital city of Luang Prabang, the entire city a UNESCO World Heritage site. Its Royal Palace became a museum of Buddhist treasures after the revolution in 1975.

Back home, consider enlightenment anew.

Private Jet: Lands of the Great Buddha. On the Trail of the Enlightened One. 21 Days.