In recent years, the time immediately following Tet has been very lucrative for fortunetellers.

A fortuneteller at work

After Tet, fortunetellers have been working all day and even late into the night in order to serve the increased numbers of customers, usually young women who are single or are having trouble conceiving children.

Many customers are willing to wait for hours, with some coming early in the morning and waiting well into the evening for their turns. Some will even sell their place in line to less patient customers for thousands of VND. A number of people hope that fortunetellers could predict their unlucky things so that they can avoid them.

Vu Dinh Chung, 27, speaking about the fortuneteller he was referred to, said, “Many people said this fortuneteller is very accurate. I had to travel dozens of kilometres to get here and then wait for more than two hours for my turn. Some people choose to pay VND10,000-50,000 for a few minutes, but I'd rather have the fortuneteller spend a few hours with me, so I was willing to pay VND500,000. In the end I was a bit disappointed because he only gave me general predictions like all the other fortunetellers I've seen. He told me that if I wanted to avoid bad luck I would have to spend millions."

Customers trouble themselves

Most questions at one famous fortuneteller’s home in Thai Binh Province’s Kien Xuong District, were about their jobs and marriage in the new year.

One of the most popular questions for young women was, “When will I get married and what will my future husband be like?".

Many have come to see fortunetellers as something akin to professional actors, who learn certain lines and can repeat them with conviction. These are the most successful.

Mrs. Bui Thi Thu, 54 years old, a neighbour of a fortuneteller said, “He told my daughter that she would get married at the end of 2012, but she remains single. I went to see him again, and have just heard him repeat the same things he said to my daughter to another customer. Local people do not trust him, it's mostly people from other places who come to see him."

Many fortunetellers ask their relatives to promote their prestige so that they become more well-known.

A fortuneteller at work

Ms. Loan, who went to a fortuneteller in Kien Xuong District, said, “Even though he was not completely off, I later found out that my neighbour, who recommended him, was actually his younger sister."

With fortunetellers more money equals more time. Mrs. Tu, of Thai Binh Province, said that she spent VND1 million (USD47.6) for her fortuneteller to spend the morning with her, making other customers jealous.

Afterwards she admitted that the money she spent was a waste, and only caused her more worries. She has decided that the 'craft' is actually a con and will not return.

Dan Tri