The only way to get to the village is by foot. It takes three hours along the forest path. (Well, it took us four hours, but locals do it in three.) And the only means of transporting goods are by carrying them on your back or using a buffalo sled. 
Here's a buffalo pulling a sled and thereby transporting goods between Pa' Longan and Bario.When you meet people in Pa' Longan, you are expected to introduce yourself, say where you are from, how many children you have, how old they are, and so forth. And you end up developing a little spiel that you use over and over again.
Now, maybe this could get a bit tedious after a while, but for a language learner like me, it's brilliant. I wish I could have done it in the Kelabit language; but being able to do it in Malay seemed to work just fine.
When we were walking through the village in the evening, we met a sprightly old chap chopping wood, and I gave him my little spiel. The next morning, we met him again, and he clearly did not remember us, so I introduced my wife and myself once more. Either his memory was not too good, or we foreigners all look alike!
One way or another, it was splendid practice for me. Maybe language schools should employ an old chap like that, and all students should each morning be required to introduce themselves fully before they are allowed to proceed into the building.
