Kuala Lumpur to Genting Highlands

You'll want to be past Gombak before eight in the morning. Genting is a day trip for half of Kuala Lumpur, and by ten the climb turns into a slow-moving queue of family MPVs. Leave early and the road is yours: cool air, wet-looking tarmac that is actually dry, and long sighting lines through the trees.

Take the Karak Highway out of the city and follow signs for Genting Sempah. The tunnel marks the point where the temperature starts to fall — you'll feel it through the vents before you see it on the dashboard. Shortly after, exit left onto the Genting access road. From here it is roughly twenty kilometres of continuous corners rising to about 1,700 metres.

The surface is genuinely good. It is also genuinely public: expect motorcycles overtaking on both sides, the occasional tour coach taking a full lane and a half through a hairpin, and a stretch or two of resurfacing. Drive it at seven tenths and it is one of the great roads. Drive it at ten tenths and you will meet a lorry.

At the top there is a car park at the base of the cable car and another beside the hotels. Both are covered, both are cheap, and both are a relief after an hour in the sun. Have a coffee, let the brakes cool for twenty minutes, then enjoy the descent — which most people agree is better than the climb.