From the Outside in

Some of my mainland friends have traveled to Hong Kong repeatedly, for no other reason than to "smell the air here."

But they have recently begun to hesitate because they've noticed that Hong Kong waitresses and others tend to cop an unpleasant attitude with them. The Cantonese-speaking locals give them dirty looks in the street when they hear the visitors speaking Mandarin. As a Hongkonger myself, but also their friend, this poses an uncomfortable dilemma.