I prefer a completely alien environment. You know how the first time you watch a japanese movie everything is completely out of left field? All the building materials are strange, all the architecture and tools have a certain theme. The customs don't make any sense. Every time you turn a corner, there's some magnanamous decorative castle or odd religious scupltures ( or ARE they?? ). See the TV series "Shogun" and imagine the same scenario on an alien planet.