It is tragic that I drove a cross-country car without a spare tire into the uninhabited land of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau just because of my gullibility.

There are many beautiful memories and unforgettable experiences during the trip. Among them, a flat tire in the no-man's land of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau became the most tragic episode among many experiences because there was no spare tire.

That year, we, 12 travelers in three cars, drove ourselves to Tibet and Xinjiang. Entering from the Qinghai-Tibet line and exiting from the Xinjiang-Tibet line, passing through Lhasa, Everest Base Camp, Gyirong, Kailash, Zada, Ngari, Yecheng, Tianshan, etc., it took 20 days and went through the "Nine-Nine-Nine-Eighty-One Difficulty". Achieved the most unforgettable journey in self-driving travel.

A few days before departure, a very close friend came to see me. When he learned that I was driving a Ford Escape, he said that this car was not good and it would be better to drive his Mercedes-Benz GL350. The special introduction said that this is a seven-seater off-road vehicle with excellent performance and beautiful running in Tibet. So, I immediately changed cars. Then I checked the car and found that there was no spare tire, and it was not equipped with tires from the factory. I felt uneasy. I asked a friend about it, and he said that this car doesn't need a spare tire, so just relax and it'll be fine. I was worried and went to the 4S store for consultation. Professionals said that as long as there was no vandalism, there would be no problem. After asking clearly, I felt at ease. So I drove this seven-seat cross-country car and embarked on a journey to Tibet with confidence. In fact, the Mercedes-Benz GL350 is indeed a good car. It is very powerful to drive, can go up and down hills as smoothly as possible, and it burns diesel fuel and is economical.

However, I never expected that this cross-country car with the best performance and the most reassuring performance would have a tire puncture just after crossing the Kunlun Mountains of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The tire puncture occurred in Hoh Xil 500. Kilometers of no man's land. If this car has a spare tire, it would be fine to put it on. Sadly, this car doesn't have a spare tire.

After careful reflection, the cause of the tire blowout did have certain human factors. After arriving in Golmud the day before, I learned from the hotel security that roads were being built in the Kunlun Mountains and there was a serious traffic jam. So in order to avoid the traffic jam due to road construction, we left Golmud at around 4 a.m. the next day. Tiangang Mamaliang crossed the Kunlun Mountains, passed the Ice-free Spring, and entered Hoh Xil, which stretches for more than 500 kilometers. While walking, I suddenly heard a loud noise, and the cross-country Mercedes that I was driving suddenly swayed. I stopped suddenly and saw that the right rear tire burst, and the burst was very complete, and only the wheel hub was good.

Seeing this situation, I was so shocked that my whole body went cold. I didn't expect things to be so small, so why are you afraid? The other Mercedes-Benz GLK260 and the Honda CRV all had spare tires but no punctures. The one that punctured happened to be this GL350 without a spare tire, and it was in Hoh Xil, where "the ancients have never been seen before, and the newcomers have never been seen since". According to the analysis, the cause of the tire blowout was simply that the tire accidentally pressed on a sharp rock while driving in the dark, otherwise the tire blowout would not have been so serious.

Faced with this sudden change, we were at a loss. After calming down and looking at the map, I found that this place is more than 360 kilometers away from Golmud and more than 650 kilometers away from Nagqu, tonight's destination. It is a no-man's land called the restricted area of ??life. The place where the tire burst was located in the center of the restricted area of ??life, with an average altitude of more than 4,500 meters. Except for mountains, lakes, grasslands and wild animals, it was almost deserted. It is said that before the Qinghai-Tibet Highway was opened to traffic, people often lost their way when walking here, and few survived. Although there is the Qinghai-Tibet Highway now, it is still a desolate and terrifying world. In addition, it was raining and snowing, the wind was bone-piercing, and the cold wind was biting, making people feel panicked and frightened.

What to do? what to do! When we came out of Golmud early in the morning, everyone was still wearing summer clothes, and some were wearing shorts and shorts. At this time, the temperature here was only about 2°C. The wind in Hoh Xil was bone-piercing and unstoppable. Everyone was shivering with cold and at a loss.

After everyone calmed down, they thought of making a rescue call. However, the mobile phone signal in this area is very weak. No matter whether I call the 4S store, the insurance company, or the emergency number, I can't get through. In my hurry, I suddenly thought that there must be a tire store in Golmud. So I found the phone number of a Continental tire store, and the call got through as soon as I called it. After explaining the situation, the specialty store said that they had tires of this model, but they were too far away from Golmud and couldn't come. They asked us to remove the wheels and send them to Golmud for installation. When I heard this, I felt trapped. It was as if I hadn't said anything. It was impossible to do it. So I asked the specialty store again, hoping that they would send the tires, no matter how much they paid.

Finally, the specialty store relented and said they could deliver tires, but at least two at a time. The price of each tire was 3,200 yuan, including shipping, installation fees, etc. Upon hearing this, we agreed wholeheartedly. I think the money they ask for is really not that much. If we encounter a lion with a big mouth, we have to pay as much as we want. Who let us encounter such an unlucky thing!

Things finally came to light, and everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief. What follows is waiting. I calculated the time and found that if the specialty store didn't waste time, it would take at least more than 4 hours to get here from Golmud, and an hour to install the tires. In total, it would take more than 5 hours to get it done.

In this way, we waited eagerly in the no-man's land of Hoh Xil in the severe cold, wind and snow. After waiting for more than 5 hours, we finally waited for the arrival of the rescue vehicle. Then I installed the tires and struggled for more than an hour. Thank God I finally got it done. Back and forth, the general manager worked hard for more than 6 hours. By the time we arrived in Nagqu, it was already around 3 o'clock in the morning the next day.

Several years have passed since the tire blowout in the no-man’s land of Hoh Xil in Kunlun Mountain, and I still shudder when I think about it. This was a profound lesson and an unforgettable tragic experience. From now on, I will always use this as a lesson for self-driving trips, and no such problems will occur again.

(End)