Yeah. Please be careful. And although I’m not sure you’d mar your testimony too badly going a little Eh Phutong on his rear end, you might end up hurt pretty badly.

I would — seriously — consider carrying a collapsible baton with you, available at any police or military supply store. A small one would probably do fine. The “cha-chik” sound of it extending tends to communicate that one means business.

I’d also try to avoid conversations with gangs of youth when you’re alone. I’m a male, and I have studied martial arts, and I still switch to the other side of the street when I see a bunch of guys that look like trouble.

Please keep safe!

Hmmmm… in such situations (although mine have never happened at night, in Cambodia, near wat dambok kpuah), I have usually tried to use quick wit or said whatever came to my mind to make them feel little. Not the most loving way to address the issue perhaps… but I’ve also been known to say something dumb and obvious like, “I don’t know you.”

Last week, a guy pressed me further, so I simply said, “Sorry, but I’m not interested.” It worked.

(This “asking for sex” thing happens a lot more in Africa than it does in Cambodia. I’ve had it happening to me since I was a young teenager.)