I'm flying out to Asia in a couple of months to stay a few weeks. I was thinking of maximizing the number of connections on my routing to increase my miles but I was wondering.. if I check baggage, does it follow me at every stop? Because if so it will surely be lost amidst all the tight connections and transfers. Should I just stick with the simplest itinerary possible in this case?

Also, since I recently discovered the joys of traveling carry-on-only.. it's not possible to spend a month in Asia with just carry-on, right? Doesn't hurt to ask..