West Bali National Park Retreat – The Menjangan

Set on beholding Bali’s beauty outside of the major tourist zones, we traveled four hours from the buzzy South Isle to the woodsy West Coast. Our goal: To get away. Away from throngs of tourists. Away from same-same shops. Away from beat-pumping beach clubs.

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We were pining after an actual postcard setting. We found it at The Menjangan (Indonesian for deer).
Positioned in a part of Bali where a slower pace of life is de rigueur—case in point: Donkeys pull carts toting branches along the roadside—the jungle retreat occupying 950 acres of Bali Barat National Park rides the line between safari and savvy; beach and beyond.

the beach

At the shorefront, a small collection of villas built using traditional Javanese architecture sit on a private stretch of sand fronting a beach so blue it’s as if the sea is reflecting the sky. Outdoor bathrooms add a touch of rustic to the abodes, while air condoning and upscale minimalist design mingling white linens and a sturdy four-post bed remind you you’re in a villa.

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A mile inland from Sentigi beach the rest of the retreat lingers in the jungle’s shadows. At the Monsoon Lodge, 14 thatched-roof rooms and two suites invoke the glamping aesthetic courtesy of alang-alang grass roofs, Bengkirai wood floors, and the lush setting (read: It’s not abnormal for a gecko to scurry across your ceiling) hugging a glowing pool and hot tub lit by rays of midday sun sneaking through the thick foliage.

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Safari vehicles link the Beach Villas, the Monsoon Lodge, and the Bali Tower, a five-tier structure busting high above the bush. Most days, we chose to wake up with the jungle and eat our breakfast at the Bali Tower, one of two restaurants onsite. (For the record: Savoring fresh fruit on a perch peering over the lush landscape has made breakfast every day since, a tad lacklustre.)

breakfast at the bali tower

After breakfast we made our way to the beach; sometimes on foot, sometimes via safari truck. It’s in moments like this you’re reminded you’re glamping in a national park. Deer roam about freely, monkeys hang from trees, and birds provide the ultimate far-flung soundtrack.

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Aside from one mid-afternoon monsoon “forcing” us to read in our outdoorsy abode, we spent our days alternating between sand and surf. Each morning at 10 a.m. we’d plant ourselves in our preferred lounges under one of the many trees providing shade at the beach. From here our daily itinerary was simple: Snooze, drink Bintang Beer (the local brew), cool off in the Bali Sea, or walk to the resort’s nearby jetty to don our snorkel gear.

pantai beach restaurant

When the sun set, we didn’t long for a scene or street full of restaurants. At The Menjangan, you crave what’s there: A five-seat bar at the beach, and a 10-table restaurant resting above the water. Here, under the glow of blue lanterns we ate local fish, sipped fresh-fruit cocktails, and celebrated a place where everyone had come for the away-from-it-all setting (and nobody cared if your hair still sported an ocean-sculpted hairdo).

Female Travelers on the Up-and-Up

Once upon a time the most well traveled women were either celebrities, socialites, royals, or leggy “air hosts” on airlines such as Braniff International Airways or Pan Am. In other words, the ladies who were placing pins around the globe were either wealthy or worked in the travel business. 

Oh, how times have changed. Today, women are piloting planes, heading up major travel corporations, and traveling at the same rate as their male counterparts. According to the Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration, women are the fastest-growing segment among business travelers in the U.S. based on a 2011 report, causing travel companies to rethink their design and their approach. Enter the rise of all-women hotel floors, designer amenities, and plush robes among practicalities like privacy, safety, and connectivity. 

While there’s an ever-growing segment of women jetting from coast to coast and continent to continent for business, there’s also a dominant contingent plotting their own map coordinates for pleasure—a trend appearing way before powerhouse author Elizabeth Gilbert chronicled her soul-searching adventures in Rome, Indonesia and India in her bestselling book-come-movie, Eat Pray Love.

“I’ve been traveling for more than 25 years and much of that has been solo” says Beth Whitman, founder and editor of Wanderlust and Lipstick, a women-to-woman travel publication consistently topping best-of blog lists. “While I’ve always encountered female travelers (solo, with friends, partners, and family) around the globe, women are traveling more now because we have access to so much accurate information online that makes us feel more comfortable—even in the most remote destinations. As we’ve grown more empowered and confident in our travels, there’s now more acceptance for women to travel.”

It’s this access, aptitude, and natural-born need for connectivity (in every sense of the word) that is literally and figuratively placing women on a purchasing pedestal. Today, women influence 85% of all purchasing decisions and account for 58% of all online sales according to Skift Trends Report on The Rise of Female Business Travelers

With more influence comes more license to travel. While it used to be considered gauche for ladies to take a break from their family or work obligations, more and more women are saving a slice of their earnings for solo trips or girlfriend getaways.  

My group of girlfriends is a perfect example of this once-trend-now-reality. We’ve been venturing out on girlfriend getaways since we started working. Fourteen years later, some of us are single, some of us are married, some of us have kids, yet all of us recognize the need to escape and recharge with “the girls.” Case in point: this once- or twice-yearly trip is something that’s held so sacred, it’s booked a year in advance. 

So far, most of our trips have taken us to urban centers or beach towns. Occasionally, we’ve braved the Great Wide Open camping, though after a few brushes with torrential downpours and leaking tarps, my group is ready for glamping. When I tell them chic camping is like staying at a wildernessy five-star hotel at the intersection of “roughing it” and “the lap of luxury”, I’m not sure any of them will miss draining their bank account at Barneys.