Ringlet

Ringlet is the first township along the Cameron Highlands stretch, about 45km uphill using the trunk road from Tapah and 10km before Tanah Rata. This little countryside town is a home to a community of mostly Chinese people, most who dabble in farming and small-time businesses. Towards the surrounding hills, vegetable farms lie hidden away, the stench of fertilisers that wafts through town proof of their presence. The facilities and services here are quite impressive; a bank, petrol station, shops, restaurants and even a lotto counter, but few tourist options or hotels. Frequently, visitors may stop by here for some food before heading to Tanah Rata and Brinchang.

While relatively developed, Ringlet is still mostly a wallowing area for roughnecks, typically farmers and agricultural workers with their crude manner, boisterous speech and drunkard tendiences. A stroll in the evening along the shophouses often reveals local ruffians imbibing and stacking beer bottles in drinking competions among the traditional restaurants. The community has little impetus for politeness since Ringlet lacks tourist appeal, and their income depends on crops rather than service industries. Still, you can encounter a few decent people who break the mould of this rough backwater mentality. Further down from town along the main road, visitors can explore the Ringlet Dam before reaching Habu, a neighbouring district that provides the setting for more farms and the popular Boh Tea Estate.