How different could it be?

My first day in Taiwan has been extremely long. At LAX I thought I lost my passport minutes before boarding my plane, and I ended up running through the Tom Bradley International Terminal begging various security personnel to “PleasechecklostandfoundformypassportbecauseI’mleavingforTai-wanin5minutesandtheyaren’tgoingtoletmeontheplanewithoutit.” After breaking some kind of land speed record for running in sandals, my friend found my passport in the little used back-pocket of my briefcase. It seems that I can’t leave the country without having an embarrassing luggage-related incident.
After discovering my passport the flight passed uneventfully, especially after I found that the in-flight movies were free and went on to watch Blades of Glory, Wild Hogs, Pathfinder, and Shrek 3, all four of which were greatly improved by my irrational belief that I was putting one over on China Air.
Before I knew it the sun was shining just beyond the wingtips and we were coming in on Taiwan. Something about 747 approaches makes me wax poetic, and I remember having Wordsworthian thoughts as Taiwan manifested below me, but the exact phrasing escapes me, and I can only say that Taiwan is beautiful. It is what San Diego would look like if the suburbs were laced with dense tropical forests instead of bewildered palm trees and tenacious cactii.
Many of the buildings, particularly the low rent apartments, look just like Beijing, but there are much less of them, and the streets are so clean that the overall effect is to create an entirely pleasant place to live, which lays to rest any questions about Taiwan and China being separate entities, culturally speaking.