I am in the midst of a 15 day trip wandering across Asia that cost me $1,521 to book. It also required a lot of miles and points – 216,750 to be exact – but considering I have a first class ticket from the US, a business class seat home, coach flights intra-Asia, and 14 nights at Starwood and Hyatt properties, it was completely worth the effort amassing the points.

So how did I book it?

First up was getting to Asia. I was curious about the international first class product on American Airlines so I looked into seats from New York to Tokyo. First class seats were available for 62,500 miles and it allowed me to tack on a free flight in the US in first class for no extra miles using the stopover trick that I have written about. I count my seat to Japan as 31,250 American miles and $2.50 in tax. Once in Tokyo, I used 36,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points for three free nights at the Hyatt Regency in Shinjuku, Tokyo.

The next stop is Kuala Lumpur. I used 20,000 American Express points and transferred them to British Airways and booked a flight on Malaysia Airlines from Tokyo (taxes were $149.67). Based on reviews, I chose the Sheraton in KL for 3,500 points and $55 each night for three nights. Flying from KL to Bangkok is easy on Thai Air and I booked that through United Airlines for 12,500 miles and $21 in tax. I love the W Hotel brand so staying at the 1 year old property in Bangkok was a no brainer. When I booked the hotel, free nights were unavailable so I selected a prepaid rate of $182 for the first two nights and used a combo of 5,000 points and $75 for the third night.

Next up is Cambodia. The original plan was to take a combo of train, tuk-tuk, and bus across the border not only to economize but to see rural parts of both Thailand and Cambodia. After some thought about the approximate 8 hour journey, I decided to book a quick one hour flight from Bangkok to Siem Reap for $150 on Air Asia. I am staying at the Le Meridien Angkor, steps from the Angkor Wat Temple for $150 the first night, 3,500 points and $55 the second night, and 7,000 points for a free third night.

The last stop is Vietnam. I also wanted to keep the journey to Ho Chi Minh on land but it can run nearly 11 hours by overnight bus so I wouldn’t see very much anyway. It didn’t help that I also read some horror stories about buses breaking down in the middle of the night, stranding passengers in rural Cambodia and Vietnam so it was an easy choice to book a ticket from Siem Reap to Ho Chi Minh for $180. Accommodations at the Sheraton Saigon are free for two nights at 10,000 points each night.

The journey home is on Cathay Pacific in business class, from Saigon to Hong Kong with a nearly 5 hour layover and then onward to JFK. I booked this flight for 85,000 miles and $209 in tax through British Airways using American Express points during a period in which I could get a 20% transfer bonus so I only needed 71,000 American Express points.

How did I get all these miles and points in the first place? Stay tuned.