I have a Jordanian friend who told me to carry a slingshot for this reason. I personally wouldn't, but the idea sounds amusing.

I've toured in Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, and tiny Singapore. Absolutely no problems whatsoever with kids. In some parts of SE Asia, my arm got tired from waving to all of the folks (kids & adults) who were greeting me in a very friendly manner. SE Asia can be a wonderful place for touring.

In the U.S., I once had kids in a car throw full beer cans at me. They missed and turned around and tried to do it again.

Yeap. Same thing in Indonesia, and Timor-Leste. SEA is as a whole the friendliest region.

On my world tour, I had numerous incidents but keep in mind this was over a TWO YEAR period. Still, the worst areas for me were parts of central/South America (no surprise there); Eastern Turkey (was warned about it hundreds of miles in advance); Parts of Iran and Pakistan, and Vietnam. Specifically:

(1) In central/south America, common for kids AND adults to hold a rope across the road and expect money, and throw rocks or try and steal stuff if you try to get by or stop. Best solution is to get off the bike and walk.. or ride through at the same time a car or truck is passing.

(2) Eastern Turkey (kurdish regions) just have a high level of hostility to strangers, and you will be victims of this. I had volleys of rocks thrown by individuals and groups, but always managed to get by. Some of them were remarkably harrowing and I often spent nights wondering how I made it through the day!

(3) I was in Iran and had very LITTLE hostility...but i'll be darned I came upon a group of kids who were throwing rocks already at each other and they just decided I was a neutral target! :) They missed.

(4) The only time I was hit by a rock was at point blank range by a guy who popped out of an alley in Pakistan's Northern Frontier restricted zone. Got hit in the back, but kept going, it largely glanced off me.

(5) The biggest problem in Vietnam are the corrupt police who often, if they hear you are staying in a host family's house, will show up and force you to stay at some local hotel at a ridiculous price in exchange for a fat kickback.

These incidents happen because gutless state departments (the US, among others, but we are by far the worst) are too spineless to confront regional authorities about such behavior, viewing it as a "domestic" issue.

Don't forget the wealth your bicycle and equipment mean in many of the third world ratholes you ride through on
these tours. A $700 fuji is more than the annual wages for many youths (and not so young) in many of these regions.

I got by a couple ways.

(1) walk the bike through any trouble that you can't speed through. You can not defend yourself and it is dangerous to be surrounded when you have both feet off the ground! :)

(2) Keep some worthless coins like mexican pesos or Vietnamese dong to throw to the animals.

(3) I did not carry a "weapon" nor was I interested in confrontation (I was usually smiling and singing, deception is the best tactic) bit I did carry a "riding crop" that I used to fight off dogs and it scares people too.

(4) Snatch and grabbers will generally scoot away as soon as they "get" something, so I used to put a plastic bag full of worthless stuff loosely on across the top of my bungie cords in back, and they'd snag that. It happened a grand total of one time. :)

I have a (largely humorous but it is practical) about "cycling in dangerous places," on my world tour website, Roughstuffs' World Cycling Network.

In DC I've been chased/threatened/punched by kids & in Northern Virginia have had a pebble & soda cup thrown at me. Morocco is a natural touring destination for Spanish/Euro bike tourers so it's unfortunate to read that there's some rock-throwing kids.

Ahhh...the irony. I was out one time in Montana in the steaming summer heat and someone threw a paper cup of ice water on me....ahhhhhhhh.

The road has always been a romantically dangerous place. There is only one best time and place for touring: HERE AND NOW! :)

I have also read about stone-throwing happening in certain parts of Ethiopia.

Nobody ever throws double cheese burgers at me. :-(

When I was walking to the bus some kid threw a rock from his window but it has never happened cycling. Once I was going to the store to pick up some random items and some kids in a vehicle yelled "roadie" at me which was hilarious because I was wearing non-cycling clothing on my touring bike and wasn't even going very fast at all. I had a good laugh at that one.