Mui Ne and Phan Thiet! Fishy and beachy. I'm a fan of the blog Vietnam Coracle--it's great as a local food resource. Photos above are of fiberglass coracles on the beach. 
Cocktail hour: as the sun sets over the beach, and our first Bia Hoi (fresh beer) experience.
I have been reading a couple of books on Vietnamese food, one by Kim Fay that mentions Phan Thiet as a fish sauce (nuoc mam) manufacturing area. So I did some research, thanks Google, and found a cluster of fish sauce factories at the end of the beach strip (which is 18-20 km long) near the city of Phan Thiet. I took the local bus and got off near the shop above.
Along the small river near the shops were lovely fishing boats.
Fish sauce factory. While I did not go inside, as I did not schedule a tour, I got to taste some primo nuoc mam at one of the stores. The number 20 denotes the level of nitrogen/protein--60 is better quality, higher nitrogen, tastier stuff and more expensive. Phan Thiet is also known for its dragon fruit.
The next day I took the local bus in the other direction down the beach strip, towards Mui Ne, a smaller town than Phan Thiet. The houses on the hill heading down to the wharf are very cool--along alleys and well maintained. What a difference from the fairly vile beach strip full of tourists and accumulated trash! This area was quiet and clean, and the kids pictured above were super friendly. I had to pick and choose areas that were interesting in Mui Ne and Phan Thiet--our hotel, Minh Anh Garden, was lovely and homey, with a fab garden retreat area.
On our last day at the beach, my brain suddenly put several things together: the fishing coracles on the beach near the hotel, a distinct smell in the air, and this small shop directly across from the hotel. Small nuoc mam factory! The coracles were parked outside of the back of the shop, on the beach. I hadn't needed to trek elsewhere, but I'm still glad I did. This small place is cool though and I'm glad it all isn't larger factories.
Look closely for the writing on the silver tanks at the train station at Binh Thuan: nuoc mam in bulk. Side note--we had the best banh mi with egg at the small stall at the train station! Not pictured because we hoovered them down. Fresh scrambled egg, pickled carrot and daikon, cilantro, with a tasty nuoc mam - soy sauce drizzled on. Toasted bun.
Dragon fruit bushes! From our train headed north.
We took a train north and scenery became awesome. Our next stop is in Tuy Hoa.
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