Leave the buzz of the city behind and take a journey into the past to see, hear, taste and feel the identity of Sabah. Meeting some of the people of the remote Mari Mari Cultural Village, you’ll get to understand what traditional daily life is like in this rural region. We’ll be welcomed into the homes of various indigenous people, who’ll chat to us about how their houses were built by tribal descendants and what the different architectural styles represent. As we explore the village, we’ll also stop at demonstration huts to see traditional activities such as blow piping, fire lighting and tattooing.
• Daily departures
• Operates year round
• Private experience
Half day
A delicious melting pot of heritage and culture, Kota Kinabalu has a top street food scene. The markets come alive after dark, so put on your walking shoes and taste your way around the various influences. Your expert guide will take you around the best spots in the night market and tell you about all the foods on offer. 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).
• Daily departures
• Operates year round
• Private experience
Evening
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.
• Departing daily from Kota Kinabalu
• Operates year round
• Group experience
Half day
Your wildlife adventure begins at 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.
• Departing daily from Kota Kinabalu
• Operates year round
• Group experience
Full day
