ruiz's journey to laos started in cambodia. in cambodia, ruiz met and befriended king satha of lovek and veloso of portugal. when lovek was invaded by ayautthaya, satha was overthrown by his son and other nobles who allowed ayutthaya to take control, forcing ruiz to flee to the spanish colony of the philippines, the place where he began his adventure in southeast asia. eventually ruiz returned with veloso, who had fled to the portuguese colony of melaka, to lovek. when they arrived they learned satha had fled to lan xang, an empire centered in modern-day laos and consisting of isan, stung treng, and small areas of southern china and vietnam. ruiz and veloso decided to journey to laos and bring back satha to restore his reign over lovek.