Nerd on Tour Podcast

John Ho grew up in Hong Kong, got culture shocked in California, married a Thai woman, and now runs two colivings in Chiang Mai. He also thinks he spent five years building digital nomad bubbles.In this episode we talk about what culture actually does to a person. Why he still calls himself a Hongkonger, what Jackie Chan really represents, and how a Cantonese obsession with using every square meter shaped the first coliving he built. Then we get to the harder part. John admits the spaces he built made nomads comfortable and nothing else, and explains what he is doing about it.We also cover the Network School shutdown in Malaysia, why he thinks it happened, and the win-win-win alternative he is testing in Chiang Mai. Plus loneliness, and his blunt question about it: everyone agrees community matters, but will you actually pay for it?What we coverWhy culture is identity, and what Hongkonger still means after ten years awayCulture shock in California, Japanese after that, and third culture kids at homeJackie Chan, the golden era, and kung fu as a pragmatic career moveNo money no talk, and fitting thirty rooms into a space the architects said was too smallTraveling to people instead of landmarksMeeting nomads in Chiang Mai before the word was common, and why he is not oneCosmolocalism, and why a pop-up village refuses to be portableFour September tracks: AI, solopreneurship, food, and a futures labThe admission: five years of building comfortable bubbles was not enoughMembrane instead of bubble, and the visa and tax pathways Thailand still lacksKotohira, population seven thousand, learning to host nomadsNetwork School, Edge City Lanna, and what happens when you skip the neighborsAn AI agent and a bunker, and the loneliness nobody pays to fixWednesday runs, and how a community outgrows its founderTimestamps(00:00) - Start (01:46) - No culture = no identity: growing up Cantonese in Hong Kong (04:35) - A colony's side effect: learning there is more than one way to live (07:32) - Culture shock in California, a second life in Japan, third culture kids at home (11:53) - Jackie Chan, kung-fu economics, and the golden era of Hong Kong cinema (16:47) - What Hongkonger still means to John after ten years away (19:53) - No money, no talk: Cantonese culture, swearing, and why every square meter counts (23:27) - From landmark tourism to people tourism: John goes where someone will host him (28:59) - Chiang Mai before the label: meeting nomads when the word was still new (32:09) - Nomading is something you do, not something you are (33:53) - Cosmolocalism explained: a pop-up village that rooted in Chiang Mai (39:48) - Four tracks for September 2026: AI for Chiang Mai, solopreneurship, nourishing food, and a futures lab (45:26) - John realized he was building bubbles: the 2.0 mission for Alt_Coliving (50:59) - Membrane, not bubble: visas, taxes, and the pathways Thailand still lacks (52:45) - Kotohira, population 7,000: how a temple town learned to host nomads (58:56) - "996" workweek, overcommitting, and the monthly stay that baffles the locals (01:01:51) - Network School post-mortem: Forest City, Edge City Lanna, and skipping the neighbors (01:07:22) - White Lotus economics: enclaves, Baikonur, and the win-win-win alternative (01:12:07) - The counter narrative: an AI agent, a bunker, and nomad loneliness (01:16:00) - Wednesday runs: how a community outgrows its founder, John (01:19:54) - Manga, Rick and Morty, and why every nomad has a good story (01:24:11) - Where to find John Ho online John Ho and his projectsLinkedIn — where John is most active and easiest to reach.Instagram — travel photos, coliving life, and the Hongkonger hashtag in his bio.Alt_Coliving — his two Chiang Mai spaces, Alt_ChiangMai in the Old City and Alt_PingRiver in Wat Ket.Cosmo Local CNX — the month-long pop-up village bringing global talent and Thai locals together in September.The Extended Stay — the newsletter where John published his Network School piece.Support the podcastIf you enjoyed this episode, subscribe and share it with a fellow nomad. Drop me a comment on nerdontour.net: I read every single one and reply. And subscribe to Nomad Tuesday for travel stories, podcasts, and recommendations delivered to your inbox every Tuesday.

Ryan Li has spent twenty years in Asia and calls himself an egg. White on the outside, yellow on the inside. In this episode, we talk about how a nineteen-year-old from Texas sold his car and talked his way into a job in Japan. Why he taught himself Japanese, Mandarin, and Khmer without ever studying properly, and what two decades of chasing greener grass actually taught him.We also go deep on visas, tax residency, and the banking mess of living in a dozen countries, plus why he runs a degoogled phone and a security-focused laptop while building companies on two continents.About Ryan LiRyan is an American from Texas who has lived in a dozen Asian countries since he was nineteen. He runs Ilfusion, a creative agency in Texas he co-founded in 2010, and Sovagent, his new AI startup. Before that he built VR and metaverse startups in Taiwan and a Web3 company in Singapore. He co-hosted the Egg Banana podcast from inside VR headsets during the pandemic and now runs Going Borderless.What we coverWhat an "egg" is and how a Texan car guy ended up more Asian at heartLearning hiragana, katakana, and kanji from a book handed to him in an anime storeSelling his car at nineteen and answering a newspaper ad two weeks before his flight homeBuilding English lesson material from scratch with his own voice, years before language appsDozen countries, repeat stays, and why he would not recommend his own patternVisas, the 183-day rule, and the ten years it took him to understand any of itClosing his US bank account on day one, and why Revolut and Wise changed everythingBecoming a business owner by accident and growing two agencies to thirty people eachGoogle Glass, VR, Web3, and a small mining farm in SingaporeGrapheneOS, Qubes OS, and taking malware apart just to see how it worksWhy he thinks everyone should care about privacy, whether or not they have something to hideGoing vegetarian at sixteen, and the loss that made him grow up fastPreventing burnout by running several projects instead of oneBriefing an AI before bed and reviewing the work in the morningTimestamps(00:00) - Create Your Own Opportunity (00:27) - Show Intro and Guest Introduction (02:48) - Exploring Identity: The Egg Concept (05:10) - Learning Japanese, Chinese, and Other Languages (09:38) - Cultural Connections: Bridging East and West (11:59) - First Steps in Japan: A Journey Begins (16:24) - Teaching English and Building Learning Materials (22:33) - The Quest for the Perfect Place: Moving Through Asia (29:40) - Navigating Bureaucracy in Asia (34:25) - Visas, Tax Residency, and Banking Abroad (40:15) - The Accidental Entrepreneur (46:18) - Exploring New Technologies (48:02) - Egg Banana: Podcasting in VR (50:48) - The Rise of Remote Work and Creativity (51:57) - Minimalist Tech Stack and Daily Devices (54:04) - The Fascination with Technology and Security (58:27) - The Importance of Personal Privacy and Control (59:57) - Going Borderless: Exploring New Horizons (01:01:25) - The Ideal Listener: Learning from Experiences (01:02:25) - Overcoming Societal Norms and Pursuing Dreams (01:08:37) - Self-Care and Combating Burnout (01:10:40) - Vegetarianism and a Life-Changing Loss (01:15:46) - Diversifying Projects to Prevent Burnout (01:18:55) - The Future of Technology and Personal Data (01:21:06) - Where to Follow Ryan Online (01:22:13) - Closing and Podcast Outro Ryan Li and his projectsLinkedIn — the only social network Ryan consistently uses.X (Twitter) — account created for the Solvegent project.EggBanana — Ryan's podcast with Marc and Edward, one "egg" and two "bananas". Talking about life in Taiwan, Japan, Singapore and beyond.Going Borderless — Ryan's newer podcast series on being born in one place and choosing to live in another. Side project, not a business.Ilfusion — Texas-based digital marketing agency co-founded by Ryan run since 2010Solvegent — Ryan's current AI project focused on securing agents on the Internet.Support the podcastIf you enjoyed this episode, subscribe and share it with a fellow nomad. Drop me a comment on nerdontour.net: I read every single one and reply. And subscribe to Nomad Tuesday for travel stories, podcasts, and recommendations delivered to your inbox every Tuesday.

A waterfall you climb up, not swim in. Barefoot on limestone that grips like spider web. No slipping, no shivering, no water shoes needed. Ninety minutes from Chiang Mai, Buatong turned my morning into the strangest climb of my Thailand stay.

Lush paths, humid air, and another walk-and-talk detour into tea… and sugar. When I was a kid, tea meant lots of sugar (grandma-style). Somewhere along the way I realized good tea doesn’t need cubes, honey, or any sweeteners—just time, leaves, and a bit of curiosity.If you want a funny, smart watch that explains why sugar sneaks into everything, I genuinely recommend That Sugar Film.#WalkingWithPiotrekFor more digital nomad stories go to ⁠nerdontour.net

I value privacy and was delighted to discover Proton Mail. Their solution sounded like a wonderful counterpoint to the dominance of Gmail and other ad-driven services. Once I read books about surveillance capitalism, I knew that I wanted to protect my data and experience what it means to use the end-to-end encrypted, open-source email provider called Proton. Although, after over a year of using it, I’m switching to Apple’s iCloud Mail.

Sydney Royal Botanic Garden provides exactly what I came to Australia for. Lush greenery, peaceful trails, and views that remind me why nature is worth traveling halfway across the world.But here's the thing: Australia's Internet is spotty. Whether you're working remotely or just need reliable connectivity, prepare multiple backup options. Local eSIM, portable WiFi, and pre-downloaded maps saved me more than once.Beautiful destination. Just don't expect seamless connectivity everywhere.#WalkingWithPiotrekFor more digital nomad stories go to ⁠nerdontour.net

Back in Kuala Lumpur’s Botanical Gardens, I’m sharing why my all-time favorite tree is the humble tea tree. I start the day with strong Sri Lankan black leaf tea, then switch to green, oolong, or hojicha as the hours roll by. Wherever you are, pour yourself a small tea ceremony today. #WalkingWithPiotrekFor more digital nomad stories go to ⁠nerdontour.net