Batam is generally safe during the daytime hours, but at night if you are in the entertainment areas of Nagoya you should exercise caution. Do not walk alone at night, if you want to leave somewhere and it is late, find someone else who is leaving or about to leave, or stay until it closes and then all go together. If you really have to get back to your hotel call the hotel and have them send a car to pick you up. As the taxis are not regulated or owned by a central group like Bluebird in Jakarta you may not be safe hiring a taxi off the street either. Walking in groups or two or three is probably okay but do not get into discussions with the locals as you may be asking to have your wallet or purse taken from you. If this happens, don't chase, just walk back to where you were or to the hotel and report to the police later.
Traveling safe is another matter. The roads around Batam are OK, but not maintained to the highest standard. The taxi drivers in particular delight in driving as fast as they can and they really like to overtake on a curve or bend. If you feel at all uncomfortable ask the driver to slow down, tell him you are not in a hurry, usually they are OK, although we did have to yell at one in Indonesian a few times to get him to drive safely.
If you have to drink it is always better to do it in your own hotel or a family restaurant-cum-bar. If you have to go to an ordinary bar, you must opt for a VIP room or you might land up in "ecstasy" which is nothing but drugs. There have been instances where drugs were put in one's bag unknowingly and then trap the visitor in the cop net where it will be really tough to "free" oneself unless you are a localite.
contact
The country code for Indonesia is 62. The area code for Batam is 778. To call Singapore from Wartel phone shop, please dial 007-65 follow by the phone no.
The General Post office known as kantor pos in Bahasa Indonesia is located at Batam Center, not far from the ferry terminal
talk
Indonesian Bahasa Indonesia is modeled on the version of Malay which originates from Riau on the Sumatra mainland and the Riau Islands. In fact, Riau Malay is regarded as quite similar to the Malay language and visitors from Malaysia will find the Indonesian spoken here very similar to Bahasa Malaysia, which is the version of Malay spoken back home.
Batam also have a large population of ethnic chinese Indonesians, who also can speak Hokkien Fujian, Teochew and Mandarin. Besides, there are also large population of migrants from various parts of Indonesia who speak many different kinds of Indonesian dialects.