Shanghai!
Shanghai people speak well and intelligently, far more so than Singaporeans. They think in far more complex terms than we do, and express their opinions readily, peppering them with examples and anecdotes.
The young people I spoke to are hungry and lean, eager for excellence in their work and willing to go the extra mile. Service in all the shops I went to was professional to a fault. Even in the smaller shops, once the price had been settled after a bit of haggling, the shopkeeper would follow up with dedicated service - helping me find a bigger bag to consolidate all my purchases, providing additional information, and so on.
As a city, Shanghai has fantastic night spots, catering to both the high and the low end. Their subway system is comprehensive.
Yes, much still has to be done about standards of public behaviour. Spitting and littering remain incredibly common. The taxis reek of cigarette smoke, while the back alleys stink of rotten garbage. Dingy shophouses with rusty grilles (which I suppose add to the charm of the city) still line many of the roads, which could do a bit of cleaning up.
But in the long-run, the only edge we have over the Shanghainese is our ability to connect with the rest of the English-speaking world. It’s a strong one, to be sure - English remains the global language of commerce and cultural exchange. But the Chinese will catch up. Already English is compulsory in primary school. In cosmopolitan cities like Shanghai, the gap is probably narrower.
While sovereign wealth funds have been racing around the world bailing out beleaguered global banks, none of them have given British bank Northern Rock a second look. In fact, nationalisation is on the cards, although the UK government is hoping not to have to use that politically unpopular last resort. Instead, it is hoped that private players like Goldman Sachs and Richard Branson might fly to its aid. (As one shareholder put it, paraphrased, “I don’t want it to be called Virgin Rock or something vulgar like that.”)