I met my man on vacation — after 2 days we quit our jobs to travel the world

They found love in a foreign place.

Couple Marcel Popp, 33, and Vendula Zakova, 31, met while they were on vacation in Vietnam.

Now they have decided to quit their jobs and explore the globe together, allegedly saving around $1,000 per month.

The two first bonded over their love for travel, but their initial courtship was a quick one.

“Marcel and I spent just two days together in Vietnam [where we met] and then parted ways,” Zakova told NeedToKnow.co.uk.

However, they kept in touch with each other, and Zakova flew to see Popp in his native New Zealand, and then Popp, in turn, visited her in Argentina.

Zakova said they “then both quit our jobs and sold everything that we couldn’t fit into the van and set off around New Zealand for seven months.”

That adventure was in 2019, after which they decided to upgrade their vehicle before they toured the Chilean countryside.

“We quickly realized that we didn’t need a lot of materialistic items to live and be happy — just the essentials, plus a few toys like fishing and diving gear and surfboards,” Zakova explained.

They decided to transform an old 2003 Toyota Hiace ambulance into a home for themselves, building in a solar shower, working kitchen, 40-liter fridge and even a roof-top deck – all for a total of $12,000.

So far, their plan for adventure seems to be working.

“We started our journey in Santiago de Chile, have already traveled 10,000km (6,214 miles) to the bottom of the world — Ushuaia, Argentina — and now we have our sights on the rest of South America, mainly Bolivia, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia,” Zakova explained.

“We are thinking this trip will take around a year and around 40,000km (24,854 miles),” she added.

Living life on the road saves them a lot of money, especially on day-to-day expenses.

They only spend around $600 on fuel for the van and $10 per month on propane – which is much cheaper than the $2,500 per month that they were spending on rent.

“With our full off-grid solar system, we don’t have to pay any power bills as we charge using the sun or the alternator while driving,” Zakova said.

“A real positive is it only takes two minutes to heat the van up in winter if you don’t like where you’re staying, or if you don’t like your neighbors you can just leave.”

The pair now works remotely from all over the world, with Popp consulting others as a van builder and Zakova working as a human resources manager.

However, although there are a lot of positive aspects to their lifestyle, there are also some hiccups that have occurred along the way in the 75-square-foot space, including having “cabin fever” and an occasional lack of privacy.

“When it rains for days in a row and you are stuck inside, you start to get a bit of cabin fever, usually increasing tension in the van,” Popp said.

“You definitely need to come to terms and adjust to the fact you will be living with someone in very close quarters in essentially a very small room with not a lot of privacy.”

But, overall, they are excited about this new life and their next chapter.

Currently, the duo is planning their next trip, and it looks like they will be heading all the way to Australia, with no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

“We quickly realized that we didn’t need a lot of materialistic items to live and be happy — just the essentials plus a few toys like fishing and diving gear and surfboards,” Zakova said.

They plan to invest their money in a new van for the journey.

The couple shares their adventures on Instagram under the username @salty_vanventures, boasting more than 19,000 followers.

It also looks like they don’t have any plans to move back into an apartment – and there’s no convincing the couple.

“We love the minimalist life and want to continue living this way,” Zakova said.