BEST three films of all time? Easy. The God- father. Ghostbusters. The Jungle Book.

And the thing I love most about holidays is reliving my favourite movie moments for real.

But seeing as I couldn't sort out a romantic Sicilian break with the Mafia or find a New York apartment with its own haunted fridge, I took my wife on a trek through the forests of Borneo to meet the real life kings of the swingers-the island's population of orang-utans.

For a Jungle Book nut like me, seeing King Louie and his pals in their natural habitat was a dream come true-oo-oo.

And although the food and accommodation wasn't quite Hollywood standard, I was still treated like a jungle VIP.

There were Baloo skies. Kaa-m waters. In fact, I Shere Khan recommend it. (And that's it with the Jungle Book puns.)

My wife Kathryn and I flew into Borneo's northern capital, Kota Kinabalu, and used the small town as a base.

Paradise

KK, as it's known locally, is the perfect hub if you're exploring the northern state of Sabah thanks to the frequent and cheap domestic flights from its bustling airport.

Before setting off into the jungle, we stopped at the marketplace and tried durian-a local fruit that smells so bad, you're not allowed to take it in hotels and taxis.

It's almost indescribable. Durian tastes like perfume and ice cream- but honks like a blocked toilet.

From KK we flew to the Danum Valley, a wildlife-lover's paradise. The dense green conservation area is home to 221 species of mammal and 420 species of bird.

The friendly Rainforest Lodge Hotel is a 50-minute hop over the fang-like summit of Mount Kinabalu-famous for its 2ft-long leeches-and a further three hours by 4X4 down a dust-caked logging trail.

It was like wandering into a lost world. Leaf monkeys capered in the treetops as we sipped fruit cocktails. I wouldn't have been surprised if I'd looked out the chalet window and seen a T-Rex thundering past.

One of the largest male orang-utans in the area, a hefty six-footer called Clipper, had been spotted nesting nearby the previous night-so at 6.30am the next day our guide took us to the ape's stomping ground in the misty jungle.

Up in the leafy canopy, our eyes settled on a fluffy orange arm gently swaying in the breeze.

Clipper was an even cooler customer than King Louie in The Jungle Book. It was a breathtaking moment.

Then he got up, stuck his backside over the side of the nest, and emptied his bum onto the path, just missing my head.

Not quite the Hollywood magic I'd been hoping for. But I still felt like David Attenborough.

Our next stop was the Gomangtong Caves, a network of yawning limestone caverns made famous by the BBC wildlife series Planet Earth.

Here, wheeling swiftlets craft edible nests from saliva, which are harvested by locals and made into bird's nest soup.

Next, we drove across country to the mighty Kinabatangan River and took a cruise, spotting proboscis monkeys, cute macaques cradling their young, huge monitor lizards slipping into the water and magnificent hornbills gliding overhead.

Leopard

On a night trip we spied a slow loris-a primate that looks like something out of Gremlins. Our guide almost fell out of the boat as it was the first one he'd seen in SIX YEARS.

Delighted, we returned to the hotel, only to learn some other guests had gone on a bit further and seen a new species of leopard that was only discovered a month ago. Guhh.

Next stop was a homestay with the Rungus tribe from northern Borneo who are well-known for welcoming Western visitors.

As we sat at a long dinner table in their wooden hut, my mind flashed to the bit in Temple Of Doom where Indiana Jones is fed snakes, beetles and monkey brains.

Luckily, they did us a prawn stir fry washed down with fresh coconut milk.

Seeing an orang-utan in the wild was an amazing experience, but there's no better place to get close to these beasts than a sanctuary.

Tragically, because of disruption caused by logging and palm oil plantations, orang-utans are often orphaned.

But preserves such as the one at Sepilok, in the coastal town of Sandakan, look after the youngsters until they're ready to return to the wild.

Sadly, we weren't able to meet any of the orang-utans-the babies are kept away from the public so they don't get too used to humans.

But we did watch an entire family swing up to the feeding platform for a lunch of bananas-and it would have taken a heart of stone not to crack a wide, ape-like smile.

Stars such as Sadie Frost and former Corrie actress Tina O'Brien have already championed the good work of Sepilok. In fact, we were so impressed with the sanctuary that we adopted a lovely baby orang-utan called Sen.

It was a nightmare getting him through Customs, but he's settling into UK life just fine and I've got him starting nursery next week.

(Not really-he still lives at the sanctuary. Although we do get regular updates and photos in the post.)

If you're a Jungle Book diehard- or just love wildlife-a trip to Borneo will bring you face to face with adventures you've previously only seen on the cinema screen.

And as for me? Nothing less than the trip of a lifetime. In fact, I'm already planning a return journey. Or should that be sequel?

Getting there

ROYAL Brunei Airlines fly daily from Heathrow to Brunei Darussalam with return fares from £775. They also organise tours to Borneo.

See www.bruneiair.com or call 020 7584 6660.

Thomas Cook Signature offer five nights room-only at the 5-star Shangri-La's Tanjung Aru Resort from Heathrow between January 16 and March 31 for £1,119 per person. See www.tcsignature.com or call 0844 871 6650.

Thomson Worldwide offer a 3-star, nine-night Borneo Ad- venture tour from £1,399 per person flying from Heathrow. See www.thomsonworldwide.com or call 0871 230 2770.