Tell me where to get money TUOI TRE   Over ten people are waiting at the house of Ms. Lien to be read their fate and fortune in the new year. Photo: Tuoi Tre It took Tuoi Tre journalists the entire 10th day of the lunar new year to track down the numbers of famed fortune tellers. Around 9am, the journalists arrived at a home in suburban Hoc Mon district. The woman who lives there, a clairvoyant named Lien, said they were already late for that morning’s fortune telling session, and were told to return at 4 am the following day. Some customers even leave their homes as early as 1 am to be able to see Lien and seek her divinations. How is my luck this year? Scores of clients from other provinces flock to see Lien, who is famous for providing divinations using only water. She dips her fingers in a bowl of water, and scribbles some undecipherable squares and circles on a table before uttering predictions. Those who are asked to wait outside her working room are guaranteed a meeting with her. Other, less fortunate clients have to go home after waiting for hours. “Lien’s predictive ability is quite good. I can trust over 50% of her ‘prophecies’, as they do prove wrong sometimes. Three years ago, she foretold that my mom would certainly die that year. Fortunately, she was wrong about that, my mom is still alive and kicking,” Thuy, a client, said. Tired from waiting from 7am till noon, Nguyen Thi Ngoc, a textile worker, said she almost lost her job last year since her company had few orders, and the struggles are far from over this year. “I want to ask Lien if my job with this company is secure or whether I will fare better if I switch to another company,” she added. The minimal fee for each meeting with Lien ranges from VND50,000 to 100,000 (US$2-5), which is double or triple her daily pay, depending on the duration and content of the sessions. Ly Thi Mai, who owns a medical kit store in district 10, said her business suffered heavy losses last year. She was introduced to Lien, whom she believed would help her repel rotten luck. As soon as Lien saw her, the clairvoyant predicted that she would be in distress this year as her husband will have an affair. When interrupted by Mai, the ‘prophet’ instantly changed the subject to business, as required. Lien then claimed that one of Mai’s competitors is casting an evil spell on her store and consulted her on countless things to do to break that spell. Mai then paid Lien VND700,000 (US$35) in total. At 11 am, the house owned by Hoang, another fortune teller in district 3, is still packed with more than 30 clients. Most clients are middle-aged women who are small traders or office employees. Their most common enquiries include those regarding business, real estate trading, health and family affairs in the new year. “Amidst the country’s economic malaise while I’m under a bad zodiac sign this year, I want to ask her if I can sell some of my land lots,” said Le Thi Diem Tam, a 51-year-old businesswoman. Meanwhile, Thu, another ‘gifted psychic’ in Tan Phu district, is famous for her divine ability to foretell a client’s past, present and future with merely a deck of cards. She can also tell a customer’s personality and fate simply by reading their palm lines and signatures. Thu claims that the credibility of her predictions is over 90%. After being told by Thu that he would be a promoted this year thanks to the help of a female colleague, a middle-aged male client disbelievingly revealed that he is merely an ordinary office employee and there are no females at his workplace. New service offered at sacred places The new lunar year has also seen a boom in visitors to pagodas and temples. Many of them don’t know how to pray or beg for the superior’s and gods’ blessings properly. Catering to this demand, an army of people are more than willing to do the task for them, with costs ranging from VND10,000 to 50,000 ($2) or more each time.