I have a story, right from today. I took the overhead walkways from Lumpini to Benjakitti. Along the klong, two teenage boys were fishing, accompanied by four smaller boys, maybe 10 tears old.
As I passed, I asked one of the boys, in Thai, "Any fish?" He told me yes. Then one of the smaller boys came up toward me and show me a four-inch knife he had palmed.
I walked up to him and asked him if he was stupid. And I walked away.
There was a security guard, just out of sight at the tops of the stairs. Kids didn't look like toughs. It was a calculated risk. I'm 72.
My advice? Stay home after dark. Be friendly. Smile. Greet people. Don't be impatient or angry. Don't make small problems your big problem. It's all up to how you perceive the world, with confidence or fear.