Nerd on Tour Podcast

Ryan Li — Self-Taught Polyglot and Privacy-First Nomad in Asia

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.

Using Thai QR PromptPay Payments as a digital nomad

To pay by QR in Thailand, I used a Malaysian app. That took a local SIM, a KYC check, and two conversions. Absurd, and still the best option I found. Here's the setup and what actually worked.

Buatong — climb like Spider-Man on Sticky Waterfall near Chiang Mai

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.

How to find accommodation as a nomad?

Accommodation doesn't have to be nomad's biggest expense. After years on the road, I cut my lodging costs in half without downgrading. Rooms, colivings, apartments, direct rentals. Here's my unconventional approach to a place to stay.

Beeper — messaging app for power users

Clear communication is everything to me as a nomad. WhatsApp, iMessage, Telegram, Slack, Signal, Discord, etc. Dozen apps, one me. Beeper bridges them all into one inbox, so I meet people where they already are. Here's why it earned a spot on my phone.

Regular check-ins keep nomad friendships

Loneliness is the quiet tax of nomad life. We meet our best friends in colivings, then scatter across the globe. But I built a simple 3-hour weekly habit that keeps those bonds alive, no matter the distance. Why it works? Check the details at nerdontour.net

What AI videos can't do?

Films as AI machinima

Films shaped where I travel. But AI is changing how films are made. Is this the end of authentic storytelling? Or just the next step in filmmaking?

Who is a digital nomad?

Digital nomad. The label is everywhere, yet nobody agrees on what it means. And that's the beauty of it. Anyone can step into this life. No permission needed. You control the pace, the place, the shape. Here's how I carve my own path.

Bencomo Coliving owner on how to make nomad friends? Conversation with Ana Baute

Ana Baute runs Bencomo, a coliving in North Tenerife that feels like staying at a friend's house rather than a hostel. In this episode, we talk about how she turned a family home into a space for digital nomads, why loneliness is one of the biggest problems for long-term travelers, and what coliving actually means when done right.We also go deep on Tenerife's mass tourism issue, why the North is very different from the South, and whether coliving can be part of the solution.Get 10% offUse the code "nerdontour" to get 10% off your next stay at Bencomo Coliving.About Ana BauteAna is a certified local guide from Tenerife with roots in the Canary Islands and Ireland. She worked in advertising and cinematography before becoming a hiking guide, teaching about Guanche history and the island's unique Laurisilva forests. When the pandemic hit, she saw an opportunity: transform the family house into a coliving for digital nomads.What we coverHow Bencomo became a real coliving — not just a hotel with a fancy nameThe pandemic of loneliness and why coliving is relevant for nomads who spend months on the roadCommunity dinners, stargazing on Teide, and spontaneous arepa nights with strangers who become friendsWhy Ana requires a minimum 15-day stay and targets nomads aged 25–45North vs. South Tenerife: the real island versus the tourist resort stripThe mass tourism crisis — overcrowded hospitals, traffic jams, and Airbnbs pricing out localsDigital nomads as a better kind of tourist: curious, respectful, and open to local cultureHow to book Bencomo via Instagram, WhatsApp, or MangobedsAna's routine for staying healthy while running a coliving: pole dance, running, hiking, and meditationTimestamps(00:00) - Teaser. (00:26) - Intro & podcast welcome. (01:09) - Meet Ana Baute: Canarian heart, Irish roots. (02:33) - What came before Bencomo? From advertising to cinematography (04:21) - Earning the local guide certificate: the hard way (06:41) - Guiding teenagers, hiking with locals, and the Guanche culture (08:39) - Tenerife's Laurisilva: the island's most magical forest (09:41) - Tenerife as a small continent: layers of nature and biodiversity (11:17) - How Ana discovered co-living — and decided to start her own (13:10) - The pandemic of loneliness and why co-living matters (15:04) - What makes a true co-living (not just a rebranded hotel) (16:18) - Community dinners, Arepa nights, and stargazing at Teide (18:19) - Guest activities: yoga, cycling, art nights, and dog walks (20:23) - Family house turned co-living: one year of building the dream (22:20) - The name "Bencomo" and why every room is named after the island (26:42) - Building a reputation from scratch — October launch and early guests (28:00) - Why podcasting beats Instagram for authentic storytelling (29:18) - Who stays at Bencomo? 25–45, remote workers, full of diversity (30:46) - Avoiding tourist traps: eat local, spend local (32:11) - Canarian food: papas con mojo, gofio, rabbit, shark, and barraquito (34:48) - Cooking together as a community — and a Lithuanian cake for Three Kings (37:10) - Day-to-day life at Bencomo: work, sport, and spontaneous moments (38:10) - Operational challenges: from fridge overflow to dodgy Wi-Fi — solved (43:34) - Coffee break connections: how real friendships form at co-living (45:01) - Memorable guests: an Argentine guitarist and a Lithuanian wine-and-draw night (47:23) - North vs. South Tenerife: local life, black sand, and slower pace (49:32) - The climate zones of Tenerife — from coast to volcano (51:12) - Mass tourism crisis: overcrowded hospitals, traffic jams, and unaffordable housing (54:36) - What Tenerife needs: fewer tourists, more quality (58:12) - Is co-living part of the sustainable tourism solution? (01:01:07) - Digital nomads vs. party tourists: a different mindset entirely (01:04:20) - How to reach Ana: Instagram, WhatsApp, or bencomocoliving.com (01:05:47) - Booking via Mangobeds and the drone video that shows it all (01:07:21) - Ana's wellness routine: pole dance, hiking, running, and meditation (01:09:26) - Ana's final message: you are welcome here (01:10:43) - Outro & subscribe to Nomad Tuesday Connect with AnaBencomo Coliving: bencomocoliving.comInstagram: @bencomocolivingSupport 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.