Since I am just a short post away from wrapping up my Macau travel adventures, I'm going to blog about my Bataan adventures since I've been itching to do it for a long time already.
If you remember, last August 2011, the Philippines had a rather extra long weekend because of several holidays. So, I was so flustered thinking about being stuck at home. I wanted to go to Baguio but my reservation was put on-hold and when it was finally okay, it was already too late to go. Anyway, my family and I ended up staying at the National Power Corporation's Nuclear Power Village in Bagac, Bataan.
It was my third time to set foot in Bataan. The first one was when I was in college; the second one was for a 2-day work-related matter. But the road we took going to Bagac was different from the one I used before, so it was like my first time going to Bataan.
Anyway, I liked Bataan. In fairness, the roads are wide and paved; there are a lot of trees and really, nature still abounds. However, there are not too many vehicles on the road and Bagac is like 2 to 2 1/2 hours away from Manila.
To reach the NPC Village, which is now open to the public for rentals of the villas, is really easy. It's after the Philippine-Japanese Friendship Tower, turn right from the gas station and you're there.
The Philippine-Japanese Friendship Tower
The Village is past its glory days. Really. The houses are sad looking and old, but for its price, its okay. I think I paid around Php 3,000 with discount, for 2 days and 1 night. However, if you need to use a ref, the tv or a gas burner, you'd have to rent it for a fee. I forgot how much, though. Anyway, they have a maximum number of guests allowed per house but don't worry, they won't make a head count. We were almost 20 in our group although the allowable people per house is just 10-12. We didn't pay extra. If you prefer, they also have a small hotel.
It's easy to know that this place has once been grand. See the helipad in front of the hotel.
Most of the amenities are non-operational. But at least, the pool remains.
But there's a fire station inside! How cool is that?
There are 4 huge rooms (or 5?). We all fit in. I requested for extra sheets and pillows and they didn't charge me for those.
These are the bungalows. So huge. Ours is across this one, but smaller.
These are the abandoned bungalows.
And bring your own food. It's difficult to find a place to eat, even at the "bayan."
There's a good thing about the NPC Village. It comes with free entrance to the West Nuk Beach at the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. They also have lodgings at the Beach but it was fully booked so we had to settle with the village. The catch: it's about 15-25 minutes by car from the Village. But the trip is all worth it, I promise.
The NPC Village also has a swimming pool; old but clean and decent, and the compound is huge and good for a stroll or for jogging. And, there are a lot of guava trees. We just picked from the trees, with blessings from the guard (he says it'll just get rotten anyway), and the guavas we got were so delicious! Juicy and ripe! Yum. We even got to take home some.
The guavas either just fall on the ground or get eaten by birds, like this one.
And, if you don't know it, you can view from the Village, the famous Las Casas Pilipinas, a resort nearby which painstakingly restored, piece by piece, some of the historic houses, mansions and even school buildings, from around Luzon.
Las Casas Filipinas as seen from the NPC Village.
Finally, I must say that the views here are gorgeous. See the photo below where the road seems to meet the sea and the skies.
