Salar roadtrip begins

We picked up our vehicle in the morning. It was a new Toyota Hilux driven only 160 kms. Biz car rental charged us 758 USD for days with all insurances, 65 L of extra gasoline and 80 L gasoline in the tank. All tools and equipment were also included, as was the cleaning charges of $45.
Previous day when we had gone to book the vehicle, we were told that there was 4% extra charge if the payment was made by card. So we had gone a mall nearby to withdraw cash. It had 4 ATM machines but still, it took us about 45 min to withdraw the required cash. None of the 4 ATMs had a limit high enough to cover the amount we needed and they didn't disclose the highest amount that could be withdrawn. So we juggled around the ATMs and tried reducing the amount in steps till finally one of them dispensed 3000 b$. We used that one a couple of times to get the required amount.
When we went to pick the vehicle, we were told that we'll need to pay 50 b$ for the salt cleaning every time we exited from the salt plains. This of course was not fair at all since we were paying $45 for cleaning. But, anyway we took the vehicle knowing very well we won't get it cleaned. To hell with their smartness.
After picking up the vehicle we went for grocery shopping and food in a nearby mall. We stocked up for 7 days of water and food provisions.Read more