Culture Shock! Vietnam aims to be the definitive account of the country for travellers or those relocating to the country. Based primarily on the author’s first-hand experience in Vietnam, the book leads the reader on a journey that covers every aspect of arrival, settling in, integrating with local culture, and grappling with a wholly foreign language and customs. The book doesn’t turn a blind eye to the country’s warts, and it’s also not tourist-minded propaganda. Culture Shock! Vietnam simply presents Vietnam and its challenges for what they are, and provides useful strategies for adapting.

Ben Engelbach was born and raised in New Hampshire. He studied screenwriting at Biola University in La Mirada, California, and upon graduation fled East in order to dodge the Great Recession. Finding Asia an agreeable travel destination, he stuck around, teaching English in both China and South Korea before coming to Vietnam in 2016. He currently lives in Hanoi and Culture Shock! Vietnam is his first book.