When we embarked on our annual Asian Journey series four years ago, our goal was not just to narrate the joys and thrills of travel but to capture the pulse and soul of the region. We wanted our travelers' tales to chronicle how an increasingly confident and cosmopolitan Asia, rooted in tradition yet enthusiastically embracing modernity, was coping with change. Along the way, we have dispatched some of the world's finest writers—by land, sea and rail—to explore a remarkably diverse array of stories: from the curious phenomenon of South Korean farmers selling chickens over the Internet to the impact of sudden wealth on Chinese communities to the sad reflections of a Burmese exile on the stagnation of her homeland.

This yearly ritual continues here with our latest installment of Asian Journey, a special double issue of stories that revolve around a single theme: the search for paradise. As before, we have invited both members of our own staff and a dream team of guest writers and photographers to participate in this adventure. For example, William Dalrymple, author of White Mughals, explores two distinctly different concepts of the right path to the Islamic afterlife, one mystical and liberating, the other orthodox and confining. Jan Morris, renowned author of more than 40 books, recounts a magical time half a century ago when she stumbled upon a fleeting Nirvana after descending from Mount Everest. As such stories vividly illustrate, paradise is different for each of us. It can be material (Beijing correspondent Susan Jakes tracks a Chinese migrant worker from tiny hamlet to big city), sensual (Ken Hom delights over Thai food), decadent (Liam Fitzpatrick recalls the delights of his misspent youth in Kowloon), exotic (Tokyo bureau chief Jim Frederick visits an exquisite hotel in the remote kingdom of Bhutan) and paradoxical (Pico Iyer muses about how Asia's paradises, once discovered, are spoiled and therefore lost).

Senior editor Zoher Abdoolcarim did a remarkable job leading the team that pulled this issue together. Deputy art director Yuki Endo and deputy photo editor Maria Wood together ensured that the pages looked gorgeous. And as the project took shape, all of us at TIME Asia came to share the understanding of our writers: the spirit of any quest lies as much in the journey as it does in the arrival.

Aug. 18, 2004	Aug. 19, 2003	Aug. 20, 2003