Nerd on Tour Podcast

Hi! I'm Piotrek Bodera and this is Nerd on Tour Podcast for digital nomads. Since 2005 I've been working in tourism and web development around the globe. Here I combine the best bits of the Internet, long-term traveling, and decentralization.Each episode unlocks wisdom through the power of thoughtful conversation. My guests are fascinating personalities – vagabonds, developers, artists, entrepreneurs, free spirits, technologists. Together, we explore unique ways of life that will expand your autonomy.Listen to the Nerd on Tour Podcast for free in your preferred podcast app.If you want more, go to https://nerdontour.net (nerdontour.net) for show notes, compelling blog posts and specialized digital nomad services.

Nerd on Tour Podcast is a society podcast hosted by Piotrek Bodera, with 42 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Piotrek Bodera hosts Nerd on Tour Podcast, a society show with 42 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #20

  Dima Pashutskii — From Stationary Sysadmin to Nomad Software Engineer

  Sep 8, 202658 min

  Check the full transcript and show notes at: https://nerdontour.net/dima-pashutskii-from-stationary-sysadmin-to-nomad-software-engineer/ Dima Pashutskii spent his twenties answering support calls, watching logs, and wearing a suit in a Moscow bank. Then he got fired, learned to code, and left. In this episode, recorded on Skype from Bali in July 2020, we talk about the months it took him to land a first client on Upwork, the two-day job he did for five dollars, and why that review was worth more than the money. We also get into location-based pay, the twenty-hour week he tracks honestly instead of a forty-hour week he would only half work, and his argument against originality: nobody opens an original coffee shop, so stop waiting for an original idea. Plus Taiwan as the most underrated country in the region, and eating vegetarian across Asia with a purple cow app. About Dima Pashutskii Dima is a Russian software engineer turned indie maker. He went from technical support to server administration before teaching himself to code, then left Russia in 2018 with his wife Nika for four years of nomading around Southeast Asia. They settled in the Netherlands in 2022. He quit his job in 2024 and now builds his own products, including Influesque and Search to Play, and posts on YouTube about freedom, money, and intentional living. What we cover The odd jobs, from construction sites to McDonald's, that he does not regret Three or four months of Upwork applications before a single client replied Two days of work for five dollars, and why the review mattered more Location-based pay at Toptal and Facebook Twenty tracked hours a week versus forty half-worked ones Travel months and settle-down months, and finding your own ratio Building side projects without waiting for an original idea Timestamps (00:00) - Start. (00:36) - Why a Skype recording from 2020 is finally seeing daylight. (03:01) - Hello from Canggu: Dima checks in from the Bali hub. (03:40) - St Petersburg and Moscow: two cities, one long-distance relationship. (04:28) - Fired on a Friday; moved to Moscow the same day. (05:57) - Gatchina, Karelia, and why Peter the Great built a European city. (08:09) - Moscow's rush as a career accelerator, mental health tax included. (10:16) - McDonald's, construction sites, and Dima's stint as a children's clown. (12:01) - The case for doing manual work before you do knowledge work. (14:26) - Lisbon for three months: the Schengen ninety-day ceiling as a travel plan. (16:02) - Learning to code from a Russian site teaching SICP in JavaScript. (19:35) - Upwork: sixty applications a month and four months of silence. (20:15) - Two days of work for five dollars, and the review that made it worth it. (21:36) - Fiverr, Toptal, and where the marketplace race to the bottom starts. (23:03) - Location-based pay: your rate decided by your postcode, not your work. (24:32) - Automattic versus Facebook on pay parity, six years before everyone else argued about it. (26:08) - Off the platform: direct contract, hourly billing, twenty tracked hours a week. (27:53) - Learning Story and 100DaysOfCode: building in public before it had a name. (31:52) - One community for all your learning, instead of a community per course site. (35:14) - Nobody opens an original coffee shop: the case against waiting for an original idea. (36:58) - Indie Hackers, MakerLog, and the pull of owning your own products. (37:23) - Digital Nomad Journey: writing the visa and banking guide he needed when he started. (40:51) - Sixteen cities: Hua Hin by accident, Chiang Mai by reputation. (41:36) - Taiwan is underrated: bullet trains, west coast cities, and the friendliest people in Asia. (44:17) - Singapore for a week, Penang for months: choosing a base. (45:26) - Travel months and settle-down months: slowmadding before it had a hashtag. (48:41) - Going vegetarian on the road, and where HappyCow stops helping. (52:15) - The pizza fallback, and why nothing actually changed when he quit meat. (54:16) - Yoga in the room, meditation without an app, and cities with no pavements to run on. (56:31) - Wrap up. Dima Pashutskii and his projects Blog — freedom, travel, money, and intentional living YouTube — his main creative outlet since 2018 Now page — what he is working on today Influesque — YouTube influencer marketing platform, his current focus Search to Play — Letterboxd for video games Arcade Hub — Apple Arcade games database Taco Digest — newsletters turned into a personal email digest GitHub — his code X — the account he nomaded under as @guar47 Listen to all Nerd on Tour Podcast episodes on your preferred app Podcast Website: https://nerdontour.net/podcast/?utm_campaign=PodPlatforms&utm_medium=Podcast&utm_source=ShowNotes&utm_content=Organic YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@nerdontour Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/46dwoqx Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7ncVtvERp058pd7AkIf0wy?si=hqKFLI6yT5Wt8WFF7AbApA Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/dltrbnoy Other Podcast Apps: https://podnews.net/podcast/i9n39 RSS: https://feeds.transistor.fm/nerd-on-tour-podcast Podcast Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZvspP4gu3fdAD4Nx2OQBkJi9za-qEj5G Let's connect Threads: https://www.threads.com/@nerdontour Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nerdontour/ X: https://x.com/nerdontour LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/piotrekbodera/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nerdontour/ Telegram: https://t.me/nerdontourFeed Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@nerdontour BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/nerdontour.bsky.social Support Nerd on Tour Podcast If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe and share it with a fellow nomad. Drop me a comment on nerdontour.net: I read each one and reply. Skip the algorithm

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  Episode #19

  eSIM & Wi-Fi — How to stay online in Thailand as a digital nomad

  Sep 1, 20267 min

  Wi-Fi is everywhere in Thailand. So I never bought a local eSIM. I roamed on a Malaysian plan for 11 USD and stayed online in cafes, the gym, our apartment. Here is what it cost me in speed, battery, and upload time. Check the full article and the comparison table at: https://nerdontour.net/esim-wi-fi-how-to-stay-online-in-thailand-as-a-digital-nomad/

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  Episode #18

  John Ho — Coliving Founder Building a Nomad Friendly District in Chiang Mai

  Aug 25, 20261h 26m

  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 cover Why culture is identity, and what Hongkonger still means after ten years away Culture shock in California, Japanese after that, and third culture kids at home Jackie Chan, the golden era, and kung fu as a pragmatic career move No money no talk, and fitting thirty rooms into a space the architects said was too small Traveling to people instead of landmarks Meeting nomads in Chiang Mai before the word was common, and why he is not one Cosmolocalism, and why a pop-up village refuses to be portable Four September tracks: AI, solopreneurship, food, and a futures lab The admission: five years of building comfortable bubbles was not enough Membrane instead of bubble, and the visa and tax pathways Thailand still lacks Kotohira, population seven thousand, learning to host nomads Network School, Edge City Lanna, and what happens when you skip the neighbors An AI agent and a bunker, and the loneliness nobody pays to fix Wednesday runs, and how a community outgrows its founder Timestamps (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 projects LinkedIn — 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 podcast If 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.

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  Episode #17

  8 weeks in cozy Chiang Mai Thailand

  Aug 18, 20269 min

  Three nomads told me to go. So we booked two months in Chiang Mai, mid-June to mid-August, dodging the burning season. We enjoyed khao soi, a five-story gym, and cute cafés in this nomad haven.

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  Episode #15

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

  Aug 11, 20261h 23m

  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 Li Ryan 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 cover What an "egg" is and how a Texan car guy ended up more Asian at heart Learning hiragana, katakana, and kanji from a book handed to him in an anime store Selling his car at nineteen and answering a newspaper ad two weeks before his flight home Building English lesson material from scratch with his own voice, years before language apps Dozen countries, repeat stays, and why he would not recommend his own pattern Visas, the 183-day rule, and the ten years it took him to understand any of it Closing his US bank account on day one, and why Revolut and Wise changed everything Becoming a business owner by accident and growing two agencies to thirty people each Google Glass, VR, Web3, and a small mining farm in Singapore GrapheneOS, Qubes OS, and taking malware apart just to see how it works Why he thinks everyone should care about privacy, whether or not they have something to hide Going vegetarian at sixteen, and the loss that made him grow up fast Preventing burnout by running several projects instead of one Briefing an AI before bed and reviewing the work in the morning Timestamps (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 projects LinkedIn — 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 2010 Solvegent — Ryan's current AI project focused on securing agents on the Internet. Support the podcast If 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.

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