Give Bear Grylls 10 years in Borneo and he’d barely scratch the surface. So your average podgy Brit on his annual two-week break doesn’t stand a chance. The island is huge, diverse and packed full of the most beautiful and mad sights you’re ever likely to see – from luminous insects, pygmy elephants and orang-utans to whooping hornbill birds, stunning coral reefs and fist-sized black bumblebees.It is perfectly possible to be relaxing one morning in surroundings so luxurious an oligarch would blush, but find yourself pushing a taxi-boat up river rapids in the afternoon.

A visit to Deer Cave

My fiancee and I visited Borneo’s two Malaysian states, Sabah and Sarawak. First things first, we could not recommend the place more highly, with its perfect beaches, untouched jungle and endless outdoor activities.

We started by flying from Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, to Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah – the province covering Borneo’s northeast tip.