[QUOTE=Andy K]Hi Rguy89,
Well, you can either take a taxi or motorbike taxi call Ojek. But I reckon you should take the taxi to be safer. Formosa Hotel is in Nagoya and near to most of the pubs but really, Batam is not that big either. Pick-up joints are in most of the pubs/karaoke/discos. You pay for about Rp300k. Rp500k (SGD1 = Rp6500) depending on your choice but since you are non-asian, I think they will ask for more. Hahaha. Good luck to you. It's nothing like geylang as it's not well 'regulated' here. And many prefer getting the gals from the massage parlours/karaoke as the gals tend to be better behave. FL, as they are on their own may not behave well.
There are plenty of smaller hotels around town charging from Rp150k. Rp250k per night, try to go for newer hotels. At least they are clean. Amir hotel is a new one near Harbour Bay, quite near to the notorious Pasifik disco. Plenty of FL there. Beware or you maybe molested upside down. Hahaha.
As to your question on whether it's safe for non-asian. Well, you tend to lose out as if you don't understand their language then you may not be able to explain yourself well. I wouldnot recommend you to travel to Batam alone.
Happy hunting![/QUOTE]
Thanks for writing.
I guess staying in Geylang is better than Batam then. 300,000 Indonesian rupiahs is about 40$ Singapore dollars you can actually get Indonesian WL cheaper from Geylang for just 25/30$ minus the room. When I was there I never saw 'price' haggling from the streetwalkers (unless there is a pimp watching) because there are thousands of girls from different nationalities so competition is fairly high. Plus I read somewhere here only the really good girls from Batam make it to Geylang.