Is Blok M a safe place?
As long as you take the same sensible precautions as you would in any public place at night, the Blok is a safe place. All the bars have inside and outside security staff who keep a very sharp eye on the street. These guys are usually moonlighting soldiers and policemen, and they're tough customers - the local villains most definitely do not want to mess with them.
Discipline within the bars is an iron fist in a velvet glove. Guys who behave badly are very gently (and most professionally) eased out of the bar, and girls who get into cat-fights are immediately red-carded.
How do I get a safe and reliable taxi?
If you're in a hotel, restaurant, or night-spot and there isn't a taxi rank, phone for one from a reputable company. If you're out on the road and need a taxi, go for a Blue Bird or Silver Bird and you should be OK.
Every so often there are lurid reports in the Jakarta tabloids about taxi passengers being mugged or murdered by their driver, especially late at night. The taxis outside the bars in Jalan Pelatehan may be rusty death-traps, and you're fair game for being ripped off over the fare, but at least the taxi drivers aren't violent criminals. They're Blok M regulars, know each other well, and - even more important - are known by all the security staff, so the risk of being robbed by one is pretty remote.
What are the dangers on the road?
If you're driving (or being driven) home late at night, don't stop for anything - especially a drunk staggering in the road, someone in apparent distress, or what looks like a road accident. These are frequently set-ups to get a vehicle to stop so that the occupants may be robbed. If your taxi driver slows down, tell him to keep moving and get the blazes out of there.
Another trick is spiking the road with twisted pairs of sharpened nails to cause a blow-out. So if your car gets a flat tyre, don't stop by the roadside to change the wheel - limp on to a well-lit and busy public area before fixing it.
Beware of the motorcycle bandits. They stop, grab bags, watches, jewellery and other visible valuables - often at knife-point - then speed off.
How safe are the hotels?
Jakarta hotels have tight but unobtrusive security. There is very little internal theft, but avoid leaving money or valuables lying around as this puts temptation in peoples' way.
The international-class hotels control the incoming girls very carefully, and the security guys usually get a percentage of the girl's take plus - in many cases - an "entry fee" for the regular girls who ply their trade in the hotel bars and discos.
If you've got a girl with you, a hotel room should be regarded as potentially hostile territory. Your valuables are vulnerable, especially cash and handphones. The more inebriate you are, the greater the risk, and the danger time is when you fall asleep after an exhausting frolic. If you take two or more girls, this ramps up the risk factor.
Avoid taking more folding stuff than is necessary to cover your evening's expenses, and use plastic whenever and wherever possible. Most of the Jakarta hotels don't have room-safes, so a useful tip is to slip your wallet, handphone and any other temptables under the spare blanket in the room cupboard while the girl isn't looking.
What tricks do the girls get up to?
Look out for the girls using the hotel room telephone to make expensive interlocal (and even international) calls. Phone calls to destinations outside Jakarta are expensive, and the hotels ramp up the cost with their overhead/service charges.
One of the favourite tricks is a girl complaining that you've not paid her enough, after discretely skimming off a couple of banknotes from the wad you've given her while you're not looking. It comes down to your word against hers, and of course it's all too easy to miscount in the dim light of the hotel room and make a genuine mistake - which is what the girl is counting on.
Spiking a guy's drink and sending him off to sleep before cleaning out his wallet and relieving him of his other valuables is a well-known ploy elsewhere in the region, but hasn't yet become a major problem in Jakarta. But be on the alert. On one infamous occasion, a couple of girls went with a guy to the Melawai Hotel where they pulled this trick - but through ignorance they overdid the dosage, and the guy tragically died. It's a long shot, but if you have a drink in your hotel room take sensible precautions such as opening and pouring drinks yourself, and not letting the glass or bottle out of your sight.
Beware of the seriously incorrect hotel bar bill. In one extreme case a guy went to bed thinking that he'd signed off his hotel bar bill, only to discover when checking out two days later that his bill for that night was right off the scale. Upon checking the bar tabs he discovered a whole lot that he hadn't signed, and were time-stamped long after he'd left the bar - apparently the girls had kept on ordering in his name, almost certainly in collusion with one of the bar staff.
Look out for exotic and expensive drinks that you've no recollection of having ordered turning up on your bar bill. The cause of this is girls ordering in your name and without your permission, or altering an offer you've made for a soft drink to a soft/spirit mix. A wise precaution is to tell the bar staff - when you order your first drink and open your tab - that you'll only pay for drinks that you, personally, have ordered. If the bar staff can't (or won't) identify any girl who ordered drinks in your name and without your knowledge, point-blank refuse to pay. Ask to talk to the bar manager if the offending items aren't immediately struck off the bill.
What are the money cons?
Jakarta is pleasantly unsophisticated by comparison with major cities in other countries. Overcharging and short-changing are rife here, so always count the change (especially if you've handed over big notes to pay your bar bill).
Taxi drivers all too often use the "I've got no small change" trick, hoping you're in a hurry and will hand over a big banknote. If this happens in the daytime, just ask the driver to go to the nearest kiosk and buy a packet of cigarettes. You then return to your destination point, pay your bill, pocket the change - and leave the packet of cigarettes as the driver's tip. At night, make sure you get enough small money for your fare - the bars will willingly break a big note for you.
Filling stations are generally quite honest about the pumping of petrol, but a lot of them blatantly short-change you. (A useful tip - don't lose your rag and shout at the pump attendant, just sit there looking very mournful with your hand out for the remaining change.)