Shangri-La Tanjung Aru, Kota Kinabalu

You’ll have time to chat with the stallholders and get to know the subtle differences in food between Sabah’s tribes before tucking into authentic dishes such as noodle soup, hinava (a raw fish dish similar to ceviche) and pinasakan (braised fish with turmeric and fruit). • Duration: 2 hours • Time: 5.30pm to 7.30pm • Daily departures  • Operates year round • Private experience

Watch the sun sink into the ocean from your peaceful perch out on the water. Stand-up paddle boarding is a memorable experience at any time of day, but it’s particularly beautiful at sunset. You’ll paddle around sand bars, coral bars or floating pontoons, depending on the tide, and pause to appreciate the changing colours as the sky is reflected in the water. Your guide will also capture the best moments on a GoPro. • Duration: 3 hours • Time: 4.30pm to 7.30pm • Daily departures • Operates year round • Private experience Good to know — You’ll need a good level of fitness. Children must be at least 6 years old to take part. Children age 6-12 must be accompanied by a guardian.

Cooking classes are a wonderful way to delve deeper into the local culture while learning new skills at the same time. Your host begins the experience with a stroll through the local market. Finding the freshest local ingredients and chatting with the stallholders, you’ll learn which spices to use and buy the groceries needed to whip up a Malaysian feast back in the kitchen. At your cooking station, you’ll learn how to prepare traditional home-cooked dishes and understand how food is such a big part of Malaysian heritage. After an insightful morning, you’ll get to tuck into your creations. • Duration: half day • Time: 9am to 1.30pm • Departing daily from Kota Kinabalu • Operates year round • Group experience

As we explore the village, we’ll also stop at demonstration huts to see traditional activities such as blow piping, fire lighting and tattooing. • Duration: half day • Timings: 10am, 2pm or 5pm to 2pm or 6pm to 9pm • Daily departures • Operates year round • Private experience

• Daily departures  • Operates year-round • Private experience

Your wildlife adventure begins with a flight from Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan Airport, where you’ll be picked up and whisked off to the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre. In this remarkable rehabilitation centre, which was set up in 1964 to help orphaned orangutans, you’ll be able to get up close with the orangutans and watch them being fed. Take a walk in Borneo’s lowland dipterocarp forest and visit the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre, which improves animal welfare and rehabilitates rescued sun bears. After lunch, the final stop is the Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary, where you can see hundreds of cheeky proboscis monkeys. • Duration: full day • Time: 6.25am to 7.25pm • Departing daily from Kota Kinabalu, including return flights • Operates year round • Group experience

We’ll return to the jetty for a traditional Malay buffet dinner. Then, as dusk sets, we’ll hop back on the boat for the best vantage point to watch flickering fireflies light up the riverbanks. • Time: 2pm to 9pm • Daily departures • Operates year round • Private experience