This is the bus stop where I wait for the bus No. 24 to the airport. The bus fare is $1.75.

Standing in front of an abandoned building, the bus shelter is also a homeless person’s “home”.

All bus drivers I saw in Buffalo were black. Most passengers on the bus were black too. The only few white passengers looked like homeless people. One guy even had his pants half down. I was the only Asian I saw in Buffalo during these days.

I thought maybe Buffalo is a black-dominated city. At the airport, most airport workers were black too. However, almost all passengers were white. I did see a few Asian faces. But I saw even less black passengers.

When I say black in this post, I mean African Black. I don’t remember seeing any South Asian people in Buffalo. While in Toronto airport, most workers there seem to be South Asian.

I hardly saw anyone walking on downtown streets. At around 6pm, I sit at a downtown Metrorail station waiting for the train for more than half an hour. I only saw one person – a homeless black guy passing by with his shopping cart.

When I walked around downtown Buffalo, the few who were out on the streets were mostly panhandlers, black. I did see some white people dining at restaurants. I guess they all have a car.

Actually, there’s not many card on the street either. Most parking lots were empty. At some parking lots, you can see a black man waving a red flag trying to get cars to park at his parking lot.

At the hostel, I only saw 4 guests including myself during my 15-hour stay.

The city IS dead.

I have to mention that the hostel I stayed is pretty good. Hi Buffalo Niagara Hostel provides free hi-speed Wi-Fi connection. The bathroom is clean and spacious. The dining room/lounge is very cozy. You can also find some magazines and books here. The hostel staff are all very friendly and helpful. (I only met two of them)

Hi Buffalo Niagara Hostel, $25 member rate for dorm bed

http://www.sandiegohostels.com/explore.shtml