Ringlet is a small farming town in the Cameron Highlands, in the cool uplands of Pahang, and it is the first place you reach after the long climb up from the lowlands. The road from Tapah is a famous one: it winds for more than fifty kilometres through tropical forest, with bends that tighten and slow, a vertical green wall on one side, and a steep drop on the other. The temperature falls steadily and the air gets thin and damp, so by the time you reach Ringlet, you have gone from steaming heat to something close to an English spring. A lake lies nearby, held back by a dam for hydropower in the 1960s, and its edges are lined with flower farms.
The highlands are named for William Cameron, a British surveyor who recorded the plateau in the 1880s, and the British quickly saw its value as a hill retreat from the heat. Tea, vegetables and flowers arrived, and that is what you see now: terraced farms, plastic greenhouses glowing white, and neat green rows of tea on the higher slopes. Ringlet is a working agricultural town more than a tourist one, and that is part of its appeal. Early in the morning, the market is a busy place, and the smell of fresh produce and wet soil is strong.
As a ride, the climb is a joy for those who enjoy a long, flowing, curving road, and a trial for those who do not like trucks. Lorries loaded with vegetables grind down the road, and tour buses wait for no one, so choose your moment and your overtakes. Mist and rain can be sudden, especially after midday, and the surface can be greasy. Drivers can be impatient. Leave early, and keep good distance.
For fuel, Tanah Rata, about six kilometres on, is a certain bet, and Brinchang has more stations still; Ringlet itself offers small shops and cafés for a drink and a snack. There are plenty of simple places for noodles, roti and tea. The temperatures in the evening can fall below what many riders expect, so pack a jacket, gloves and something warm for the night.