Northern Vietnam

[SaraJean]

I just did a few days of trekking in the Lào Cai province in northern Vietnam and WOW there are some amazing orchids here! Weather here is warm in the summers with cooler nights, cold in the winters with temps getting below freezing with some snow, and very humid year round. Dendrobiums, cymbidiums, some types of slippers, and bulbophyllums galore. I really wish I got some better pictures of them but my camera was tucked away in my backpack and since I felt like I was having a heart attack 90% of the time during the trek, I was more focused on breathing and not risking life and limb than taking pictures
No clue what type of dendrobiums these are and but they were in bloom everywhere. All over in the trees, at high elevations, and such a glorious shade of yellow-orange; you could spot them a couple hundred feet away. And check out the little bulbo growing above it in the last pic!

[SaraJean]

The only pic I got of these were potted at a cafe. However these were growing up in the mountains as well. I spotted them a little bit off the "trail" (I use that term very loosely...) growing at the base of trees in piles of old rotting leaves and had no way to climb up to get a picture with out snapping my neck. The soil is mostly slippery red clay in this area so it looked like they were just growing on top of that in the decaying stuff. Now... can anyone tell me what these are? Paphs of some sort? They were beautiful with such a large flower

[estación seca]

I'm not an expert, but I wonder about
Dendrobium chrysanthum or a relative

and

Paphiopedilum affine or gratrixianum

[MrHappyRotter]

I believe the slipper is Paphiopedilum gratrixianum. Very pretty. I'd love to visit Vietnam and go orchid trekking.

[camille1585]

Looks like a Den chrysotoxum, and those are amazing looking specimens! The spikes are enormous! Sounds like you had an amazing trek, and happy you didn't go falling down a mountain while drooling over all the orchids.

[brianwstephens]

WOW. Yet another reason to travel!!!!

[fishmom]

Those pictures are amazing! What an experience (Of course I realize that there were other high points besides the orchids)!

[Optimist]

Originally Posted by SaraJean

The only pic I got of these were potted at a cafe. However these were growing up in the mountains as well. I spotted them a little bit off the "trail" (I use that term very loosely...) growing at the base of trees in piles of old rotting leaves and had no way to climb up to get a picture with out snapping my neck. The soil is mostly slippery red clay in this area so it looked like they were just growing on top of that in the decaying stuff. Now... can anyone tell me what these are? Paphs of some sort? They were beautiful with such a large flower

I totally wish that you had plunged your hands in that media to see what on earth was going on. I am having really good luck with big strap leaf (green) paphs, but not small mottled.

[estación seca]

Originally Posted by Optimist

I totally wish that you had plunged your hands in that media to see what on earth was going on. I am having really good luck with big strap leaf (green) paphs, but not small mottled.

The small mottled ones can't take as much light as the strap leaf ones. What is happening to yours?

[SaraJean]

Thanks for the ID help! It really was a stunning area and I can’t tell you how many time I stumbled and nearly gave myself whiplash from orchid spotting. At one point, even my guide yelled at me cause I almost took a nasty tumble... her reply “I have those hanging from my roof if you want to see those!!”. I was staying at her farm hut that night and indeed she did