I (white, blonde and green-eyed at the time) spent a lot of my childhood in SE Asia and southern China in the late 70s/early 80s.

Once we got to the smaller, interior towns, we had to be really careful with our movement, as we could attract dangerously large crowds just by going to the morning market or the like. The vast majority of people were just curious, and I have a lot of happy memories of smiles and connections, but a few of coming close to getting killed, too.

Still, risk is everywhere, and the positives win out. I loved learning what I could, and I hope meeting us was a net joy for the folks we interacted with, too.