A Day At Bataan Nuclear Power Plant

It’s a holiday, and it’s Wednesday; you’re staying in a housing compound (somewhere at Bataan) where the only source of entertainment is the internet. The city is an hour away (riding on a minibus).What are you gonna do? 

The Location

Besides being a historical place (the infamous Death March started here), Bataan is also known as the location of the Nuclear Power Plant which never experienced a star-up; never been commissioned. Speaking of the Nuclear Power Plant, there were plans of rehabilitating it but it eventually became a tourist attraction. 

The Plan

Together with my colleagues, we decided to organize a summer outing for the department or for anyone who wanted to come, since most us won’t be going home on the said holiday. There was a challenge tho: each of us should only draw out an amount of P500 or less. 

I was browsing the internet for budget friendly beaches located here at Bataan and one resort caught my attention: the Westnuk Beach Resort (it is located west of the Nuclear Plant thus the name Westnuk). The pictures on their site were very nice but before I made the reservation I checked if the beach is safe for swimming; it’s within the nuclear plant after all. I asked my workmates who are from Bataan about the beach although some of them don’t even know that Westnuk beach exists. There was no negative response so I made a reservation; it was relatively cheap (P100/guest). 

The resort is maintained by the government so there are not much of facilities but it looks comfortable enough.

Getting There

We hired a jeep for the whole day activity (we’re a group of 20) and the ride to Westnuk from Batangas Dos (Mariveles) is around 1.5 hours. Being the “punong abala”, I stayed in front of the jeep with one of our OJTs and she kept me awake for the whole trip. :D

The Nuclear Plant

We passed two gates before we entered the gate of the resort. At the first gate I just gave my name and he confirmed on the list if we made a reservation. At the second gate we all get down from the jeep. I guess the guard needs to check all of us. The nuclear plant feels so isolated and abandoned. It has this eerie feeling but upon arriving at the beach it's as if the beach is not within the plant's premises. The two gates I mentioned are far from each other and between the gates are supposed to be the housing for the employees of BNPP. 

2nd gate

After the 2nd gate

At the Westnuk beach

We rented two cottages but the caretaker was so nice that we only paid for one cottage. Also there aren't a lot of people at the beach, which is nice. 

We rented a boat to bring us to a near island (c/o our boss).

View of resort from the boat.

Almost there

View of BNPP from the island

After an hour at the island, we went back to the resort. Time for games and hotdogs!

Credits to Mack

Itinerary

6:30 AM – 8:30 AM – Travel to Bataan Nuclear Powe rPlant (We had a stopover, that’s why)

8:30 AM – Arrived at BNPP

8:30 AM – 9:30 AM – Breakfast and coffee at Westnuk

9:30 AM – 10:00 AM – Boat ride to an island near the resort

10:00 AM – 11:00 AM – Swim at island

11:00 AM – 11:30 AM – Boat ride back to the resort

11:30 AM – 2:00 PM – Lunch

2:00 PM – 3:00 PM – Card games/Swim

3:00 PM – 4:00 – Hotdog party J (and beer)

4:00 PM – 5:00 PM – Games J

5:00 PM – 6:00 PM – Prepare for check out

6:00 PM – 7:00 PM – Picture taking at Resort/BNPP

7:00 PM – 8:30 PM – Travel back to Batangas Dos

Remark: The resort also offers a tour around the nuclear plant but only during the weekdays.

Budget: 

P500/person

    Entrance fee : P100/person

    Cottage: P150

    Food: P4850 (breakfast/snacks/lunch/snacks)

    Jeep: P3000

How to get there (from Metro Manila)

By Car