During a secret mission to Taipei, your correspondent discovered that Taiwan is no longer a bargain basement for cost-conscious technology shoppers.

I am corresponding this week from a secret mission to Taipei.

I didn’t know it was secret until last week when I planned to talk about it on the radio.

Once the relevant government agency got wind of the interview, my family’s various voicemail services were bombarded with demands to cancel the interview until further instructions.

A week later, I’m still waiting for these to arrive.

Apparently, agency staff are concerned that revealing my mission might lead astute individuals to deduce that the Asian youngster who my family will raise, support, love and discipline for the next few decades is not my biological son.

Given the sensitivity of that information, I will refrain from referring to the subject further.

Except to say that my first visit to Taiwan is an eye-opener: It has 22 million people packed on an island half the size of Tasmania, with beautiful mountains to rival my sweet New Zealand.

Sadly though, based on my experience so far, Taiwan is no longer the technology bargain basement that it once was.

I’ve learned this since being caught in a rainstorm in the Singapore Botanic Gardens, which dampened my Nikon D40X camera to the point of failure.

As I was eager to record the momentous family and life-changing event that I am forbidden from telling you about, I decided to scout around Singapore for a replacement.

The best price on an upgrade to a Nikon D90 with a 18-105mm lens and an 8GB memory card was just over $1200, but I decided to wait until Taiwan, where I was sure it would be cheaper.

However after traipsing through the six-floor Guanghua geek market and a cluster of camera stores near Taiwan train station, the best price I could elicit was $1400 - for a Nikon D90 with only a Taiwan warranty.

Now I like Nikon as a brand, but not enough to spend more than a grand without the manufacturer being willing to guarantee it will work for at least a year.

A cynical person might suggest that an international manufacturer with a lot of bodgy stock to move, might send it to a low-wage economy: It keeps the warranty costs down and probably dumps a lot of the dodgy stuff into the international, warranty-free market.

While I would never suggest that about Nikon or any major brand, I must admit I’ve chickened out on taking the risk of buying a slightly cheaper camera with no guarantee.

So, to record the momentous events that I cannot discuss, I am relying on my iPhone and a dodgy old Kodak jobbie I bought as a present for my wife a few years ago.

And, if you’re in the know, the collection part of my mission has been accomplished successfully

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