kude.punny

Hue: old woman tells foreigners’ fortunes

VietNamNet Bridge – “Hello”. Many foreign visitors in the ancient capital of Hue are very surprised upon meeting a white-haired woman sitting on Thanh Toan bridge and speaking English fluently. The old woman both tells their fortunes and introduces Hue to them. The woman has been a part of this relic for the past ten years.

One US dollar for happiness

The tile-roofed Thanh Toan bridge is one of the two most unique bridges in Vietnam. It is located in Thuy Thanh commune, Huong Thuy district, in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue. Since a white-haired woman with a kind face has been sitting there telling the fortunes of foreign visitors, the old bridge has been livelier. The woman is Tran Thi Diu, 72, and she has performed this job for 12 years.

Telling fortunes or relying on the information given by clients to tell their fortunes? It is not important to visitors. They are only very surprised to see and listen to an old Vietnamese woman talking about love in English. How long she has learnt this job? She said she learnt from her experience. Her fortune telling is very simple but it still pleases and surprises foreign girls.

Let’s listen to her talking to Maria, a young girl from the United Kingdom.

“Good afternoon!” The old woman smiled in a friendly way. The yellow-haired girl seemed to be surprised and stopped. The old woman, Mrs Diu, continued to speak some words of welcome to the girl that she learned from her American husband of over four decades. The young girl sat besides Mrs Diu, cleaned her hand with a handkerchief, and extended her hand to the old Vietnamese woman.

The old woman held the girl’s hand and said that her hand was full, which meant that she was a kind person and would be very rich in the future.

The old woman continued to say that the girl would have three children, one son and two daughters. Maria turned to the tour guide, smiled happily and said: “She said that I have had a boyfriend – that’s correct!”

One US dollar for happiness on the bank of the romantic Nhu Y River – it’s worth it!

Although only meeting the old woman for the first time many foreign visitors are ready to tell their personal stories to her. Jane, a US girl, told the old fortune-teller that her boyfriend had recently found a new girlfriend. The old woman said: “Why do you lose your truth just because of seeing him going with another girl? You should love with your heart, not with your eyes.”

Jane kept quiet for a moment, and then said to the old woman: “Perhaps I don’t understand him thoroughly. I’ll try to protect my love with my heart.”

Mrs Diu’s point of view is, “Encouragement is more valuable than creating unclear confusion.”

“Hue’s impression”

Why does Mrs Diu only tell fortunes of foreign visitors? Is it because they pay generously? She said that Vietnamese visitors pay more than foreign ones but she only tells fortunes of Vietnamese visitors on Saturday.

According to Mrs Diu, she loves her native land and she wants to create an impression of Hue, even small, in the eyes of international visitors. She is afraid that there are many things about ancient Hue and the life of Hue people that the young can’t understand thoroughly to tell to foreign visitors.

“I want to know how foreigners feel about my homeland and the Thanh Toan bridge,” she said.

“Mrs Diu the fortune-teller” has become a small ‘trademark’ along with the great trademark of the tile-roofed Thanh Toan bridge. On days when she is not sitting on the bridge, it is sure that some tour guides or local residents will come to Mrs Diu’s house to call her to the bridge to tell visitors’ fortunes. Many visitors wait for her on the bridge to just take a photo with the old woman.

The old woman earns around VND30,000-VND50,000 ($1.8 – 3.5) each day. She hopes she will be healthy enough to sit for a long time on Thanh Toan bridge to do her job, not simply to have money to nurture her 14-year-old nephew but to bring joyfulness to visitors.

(Source: Nong Thon Ngay Nay)

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