Raymond Lee described the incidents as a biased response to the pandemic.
Conakry, Guinea:
Raymond Lee had been cycling around the world for two years when the coronavirus broke out and he was suddenly stranded in poor West African state of Guinea.
After driving through Europe and then the Sahara, the 33-year-old South Korean was headed south in Guinea when the government closed the borders to curb the spread of the virus.
"It got really serious when I was in Guinea," said Lee, a former flight attendant with a slight smile and a shock of long hair.
Now stranded, he has been repeatedly rejected by hotels in the coastal capital of Conakry, which Lee described as a prejudicial response to the pandemic.
"They didn't let me in because I was Asian," he said over the phone, saying that he was turned down by seven or eight hotels.
"It was pretty messed up," he added. "I personally have never experienced racism in my whole life, this is the first time."
Despite the abundance of natural resources, Guinea is a poor country where the fragile health care system is worrying about the pandemic.
The nation of around 13 million people also has one of the worst outbreaks in the region, with approximately 1,300 confirmed cases and seven deaths.
Lee started asking for accommodation on the street – only to be cheated by a man who agreed to take him in for $ 50 a month, but disappeared after receiving the money.
Since he couldn't stay anywhere and make a living from savings, he found a room in an upscale hotel that he couldn't afford for long.
– unimpressed –
After a plea on Facebook, someone finally put Lee in touch with a guest house that agreed to take him and where he estimated that he would have to stay for months.
Lee said unconcerned that Conakry was full of good people and that much worse could have happened to him during his odyssey around the world.
"I wasn't shocked," said Lee. "We expect so many unexpected things," he added, referring to nomads like him who cycle around the world.
Its location is preferable to a traffic accident or a serious illness, both of which are real opportunities when you're on the go.
Lee started his trip to New Zealand in March 2018 – where he started a YouTube video diary – before flying to Australia to work and save money, and then on to Europe.
"Bicycle tours are the best way to travel around the world," he said, explaining that he could stop anywhere, anytime.
After fighting over mountains in Italy and Spain, he cycled to Morocco and then into the vast desert, where cycling went smoothly despite the harsh conditions.
"In the middle of the desert it was nothing but an endless horizon for days, weeks, months," he said.
Lee is currently spending his days in his Conakry guest house reading and watching TV series.
But if the restrictions are lifted, he plans to continue to Ivory Coast and from there maybe to South Africa – a trip he said could take more than a year.
"I just want to travel to as many countries as possible as long as I can," said Lee.
"I've been traveling for two years and I don't think that's enough".
(Except for the headline, this story was not edited by NDTV staff and published from a syndicated feed.)
