[speakeasy]

Get a small can of pepper spray. It's about as big as your thumb, yet it's highly compressed so it can spray a stream over 15ft. I carried that with me when I was touring South America. I wouldn't use it against a guy with gun, but if it's a dude with a knife or you're about to get jumped by a group of guys I'd use it in a second. Handy for any aggressive street dogs too.