This all-wood, 22-door longhouse has the traditional Kelabit layout. On the dapur (enclosed front verandah) each family has a hearth, while on the other side of the family units is the tawa’ , a wide back verandah – essentially an enclosed hall over 100m long – used for weddings, funerals and celebrations and decorated with historic family photos.
A few of the older residents still have earlobes that hang almost down to their shoulders, created by a lifetime of wearing heavy brass earrings. If you’d like a picture, it’s good form to chat with them a bit (they may offer you something to drink) and only then to ask if they’d be willing to be photographed. Afterwards you might want to leave a small tip.
Bario Asal has 24-hour electricity (evenings only during dry spells) thanks to a micro-hydro project salvaged from a larger government-funded project that functioned for just 45 minutes after it was switched on in 1999 (it had been designed to operate on a much larger river).
