veloso's journey to laos started in cambodia. in cambodia, veloso met and befriended king satha of lovek and ruiz of spain. when lovek was invaded by ayutthaya, satha was overthrown by his son and other nobles who allowed ayutthaya to take control, forcing veloso to flee to portuguese malacca, the place where he began his adventure in southeast asia. eventually veloso returned with ruiz, who had fled to spanish philippines, 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.