You speak French, Uncle Sam needs people like you! Ludovic Connod wasn’t ready to fall in love, but he did. Corsica and it’s mysteries. France and it’s secret resistance. The Vichy, the Occupied Zone where mother lived in her elegant apartment using her ‘green joy’ to remain in her past. The OSS. The CIA and it’s shady psychotic substance activities. Berlin, it’s grey cold rain and world of deceptions. Saigon, the ‘Paris of the East’, captivating and fascinating, dragging in people who changed the world. Not because they planned to but because they followed their feelings, good and bad. Silvester the dog and Dennis the Donkey! His father would have loved them. But now he’d had enough!
Sunday, 06 October 2024. Written by Uyên Đỗ. Nikolai Sokolov.
A space outside of one’s home and workplace, where people meet and interact socially.
Where do we go to find a place that feels like home, but isn’t?
Not home, not the office — a third place is a space that stands apart from daily life, where one feel comfortable enough to connect with new people and form new relationships.
Sociologist Ray Oldenburg first coined the term “third place,” describing it as a cultural incubator where shared values take root. It’s a space where people can converse with others, express their individual identities, and find a sense of “belonging” through platonic and romantic bonding. The third place manifests in various forms, constantly evolving to fit the fabric of each society, whether it’s a neighborhood bar, a cozy used book store, or even a temple.
Saigon boasts more than 200 bridges.
In Vietnam’s major cities, rapid economic development and urbanization have led to the shrinking of public works and free communal spaces like parks, libraries, or playgrounds — the most natural and accessible third places for people from all walks of life. But human connection is resilient, and informal third places have emerged in the leftover cracks of urban infrastructure.
Workers resting under the Ba Son bridges.
In 2019, Russian photographer Nikolai Sokolov moved to Vietnam from Saint Petersburg. His work gradually shifted from abstract and landscape photography to street photography, drawn by “the people and the life here.” In the summer of 2024, he spent his time capturing everyday moments beneath Saigon’s many bridges.
“I’ve traveled all over Vietnam, and I often found myself sheltering under bridges to avoid the sun or rain. I started noticing that many people were sitting under these bridges, especially in the south. There was something special about them — each came with a different story. One day, a man asked me to take his picture, and from that moment, I knew I wanted to document the lives of these people. Each face, each gaze offered a story. And I wanted to share it.”
Lazin on a Sunday afternoon!
Neglected and overlooked, bridges are far from anyone’s idea of a traditional third place, and the commuters who usually use them are passing through out of necessity. But in Nikolai Sokolov’s black-and-white photos, these anonymous bridges (though if you’re sharp, you might recognize them) come alive as tranquil yet vibrant sanctuaries. Beneath rigid concrete structures, rough patches of ground are transformed into playgrounds, gathering spots for friends and family, or simply a place to rest in the midst of the city’s constant motion.
Free-range ducklings, now available at your nearest bridge.
What’s your name? — Errrr Donald.
The sweet joy of swinging in the shade on a hot afternoon.
The first rule of cockfighting club is: you do not talk about cockfighting club.
Birds of a feather surely flock together.
We’re here to make up the numbers at a Trump Rally!
“Dude, you cheating?”
Future stars of the national team?
Sisters and best friends.
Just middle-aged people casually flexing spines healthier than yours.
Yes! You definitely get a different perspective on global events from this position!
Dressed to impress.
I’m the Princess, you be the fairy!
“I already won. No point arguing now.”
Better safe than sorry.
Messin about on the river!
Most definitely a good boy.
Get my motor runnin! I was born to be wild!
The bridge-side tango.
For some, this is the first place.
“What kind of school awards did you get this year?” “I barely passed, uncle!”
You can practically hear the squeak in this photo.
Cigarette smoke and dust.
Who’s coming in last this round?
In 1915 a Jewish / Zionist Bio-Chemist Dr. Chaim Weizmann working at Manchester university invented a new way to make Acetone. – acetone is an essential ingredient for making the smokeless explosive cordite. England got it’s acetone from Germany but now there was WW1. Weizmann did a deal with Lord Balfour and the English Government to give the new process free of charge to the Government for essential munitions manufacturing.PROVIDING! That after the war the British Government supported the creation of the State of Israel on land currently occupied by Palestinian Arabs. The rest is the horrible history that still exists today where babies legs are blown off and children’s parents are blasted to death.
