What first comes to mind for many of you ex-gap year travellers may include sipping cocktails on a beach in Thailand, towering temples, padi fields, full moon parties and a Doors soundtrack. Containing 11 countries, Southeast Asia is incredibly diverse - from the shiny skyscrapers on the peninsular of modernising Malaysia to the elaborate ruins of Cambodia’s ancient culture to name only two.

Southeast Asia is a traveller’s hotspot, yet it still contains many jewels not yet in the windows of your nearest travel agent. Each country has a varying landscape – Vietnam, for example, has a coastline of beautiful sandy beaches, towering mountains in the North and tropical rainforests covering almost half of the country.

Yet as well as stunning landscapes, each country has its own culture to experience first hand. Laos conjures pictures of ancient Buddhist temples and colourful festivities. Southeast Asia holds one of the most cultural places in the world – the experience of Bali is known to most people whether they have visited the Indonesian island or not.

These diverse environments are also home to an incredible range of weird and ‘interesting’ creatures including possibly the world's largest spider, which features a put-your-daddylonglegs-to-shame legspan of up to 12 inches and of course the cyanide shooting pink dragon millipede, these two having only been discovered recently. The World Wide Fund for Nature recently stated that more than 1,000 species new to science have been recorded in South-East Asia's Greater Mekong region over the past decade..

However, as a whitewater destination it is not the first location that springs to mind. But it is not the case that there is no whitewater poential, quite the opposite! Most paddlers will have seen or heard of ‘Nikey Brads’ rapid on the Mekong in Laos which the Fat Cats boys made look easy only a few years earlier, and that’s only one rapid on the largest river of the several thousands out there. South East Asia is an up-and-coming destination yet to be fully explored by paddlers in search of something new and exciting.

However, issues such as dam construction (for instance the Mekong River), deforestation and logging could destroy many of the wildlife habitats and beautiful landscapes which draw visitors’ fascinations.

To see Southeast Asia firsthand would be the experience of a lifetime. This June, the British Universities Kayaking Expedition team are out on location, uncovering Southeast Asia’s paddling potential and exploring these unique places before industry beats them to it.