The old man who accompanied me on the 318 Sichuan-Tibet Line to see Mount Everest, a 14-year-old 1.3L Swift

Everyone has their own dreams, and we spend our whole lives running on the road to pursue dreams, realizing one dream after another, making them become reality, and finally become an indelible part of our life memory. memories.

My story begins 15 years ago. At that time, I just went to study in Kangaroo Country. I was alone in a foreign land and could only rely on the Internet to cope with the embarrassment of being bored and surrounded by beautiful scenery. situation. At that time, I saw the great masters on the Internet driving various vehicles on the Sichuan-Tibet and Qinghai-Tibet lines, and I developed a strong interest in this land located in the west of the motherland.

However, there is always a slight gap between dreams and reality. Sometimes they are two parallel lines that can never blend. More often they are two intersecting lines, but no one can predict when the intersection will occur. For the past 15 years, I have been looking forward to one day driving to Tibet. As time goes by, the destination of my dream has moved west from Lhasa to the Everest Base Camp.

It wasn’t until this year that the two intersecting lines finally reached the intersection, and I could finally set foot on the 318 Sichuan-Tibet Line to see Mount Everest. Since we are driving by ourselves, we first have to decide which car to drive? The current road conditions on the Sichuan-Tibet Line have indeed improved a lot than before, so in the end I decided to take the Swift, which has the lowest chassis and smallest displacement in my family, for this trip. In fact, the reason is very simple. It is already 14 years old. Although the car is in great condition, as a National III emission car, it will not stay with me for too long.

And I hope that every car I own can have a wonderful memory, that's all. The most important thing before departure is to prepare the vehicle. After all, it is already 14 years old. I changed the oil filter, transmission oil, brake fluid, timing belt, A/C compressor belt, generator belt and two rear shock absorbers. In addition, in order to cope with bad road conditions, I also installed an engine guard on the Swift.

The front brake discs have not yet reached the replacement period, and the rear brakes are drum brakes, which are troublesome to check, so I did not check them, which also laid hidden dangers for what will happen later. In addition, I also brought spare parts such as spark plugs, oil filters, air conditioning/air filters, etc., in order to deal with unknown problems that may occur on the road.

After everything was ready, we set off from Beijing on September 3, 2020, single-handedly embarking on this extraordinary journey, while looking at the scene gradually receding in the rearview mirror. Hometown, I know I am getting closer to my dream. In the first three days, we passed through Hebei, Shanxi, and the Qinling Mountains, and finally arrived in Chengdu, which has been known as the "Land of Abundance" since ancient times. Then, after two days of rest and supplies, we officially set foot on the 318 Sichuan-Tibet Line, the highway heading towards our dreams.

The first stop was Hailuogou. The road was picturesque. Although there was a short stretch of bad road, Yuyan withstood the test. In the evening we arrived at Hailuogou successfully.

Unfortunately, it kept raining, so the glacier trip the next day had to be cancelled. I drove my Swift directly to Xinduqiao early in the morning.

Due to the mountainous road from Hailuogou to Xinduqiao and the severe rain and fog, the road surface was slippery and the visibility ahead was very limited. Fortunately, the Swift's excellent control performance was able to cope with this situation with ease. After a day of intense driving, we finally arrived at Xinduqiao safely. Due to the aging of the wipers on the road, I also replaced the Swift's wipers with new ones on a mountain more than 3,000 meters away.

The autumn in western Sichuan is still drizzling. After resting for one night in Xinduqiao, we continue on the road to Litang, the world's tallest city. This city's altitude exceeds 4,000 meters, making it the tallest city in the world. Therefore, there will be fewer people staying here, and rooms are easy to book. It is recommended that friends who are coming to high altitude for the first time or have symptoms of high altitude sickness do not stay overnight in Litang. They can stay in Daocheng Yading, which is less than 3,000 meters above sea level.

Although I don’t have any symptoms of high altitude sickness, the altitude sickness of this 1.3L naturally aspirated Swift is very obvious after it reaches an altitude of 3000 meters, especially on the mountain road, if the speed reaches 40km/h. If you want to continue accelerating, you need floor oil, but we have already climbed many mountains, and I believe we will reach the foot of Mount Everest in the near future.

Everyone who is busy in the urban cubicle yearns for a trip that can be taken at any time, but for most people, it is just an eternal yearning in life. Because life has given us too many roles, such as good parents, good children, good employees, etc. These roles are like a tight spell on the head of the Monkey King, binding the inner self. So prepare your bags, break free from the shackles, and set off immediately. Don’t let the destination become the purpose of the trip. Enjoy the whole process to make the trip worthwhile. The journey continues...

This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.