YORK'S Malaysian-born TV chef and tourism champion Jennie Cook spoke today of her relief at narrowly avoiding the Asian tsunami disaster after a hotel she planned to visit in the country was fully-booked.

Jennie and her grown-up son, Adam, had flown to Malaysia on Christmas Eve and were hoping to visit a tourist resort on the north of Penang island, which bore the brunt of the country's tsunami devastation. But the hotel they wanted to stay at was full and they stayed with her brother for a few nights instead.

"I was very relieved because my son had been planning to go out on a jet ski," she told the Evening Press.

At the time of the disaster, the family were travelling in a car. They felt the tremors of the earthquake, but thought nothing of it. It was not until they got home that the full horror of what was happening became clear.

"People were just swept away," she said. "It was chaos. All we heard for days were sirens. Roads were blocked with all sorts of debris. A friend of mine who was getting married lost six relatives. It really brings it home when you know somebody caught up in it."

The fear of another massive earthquake had been hanging over Malaysians and tourists, with tremors on the last couple of nights, she said.

Although Malaysia lies close to the epicentre of the earthquake that triggered the tsunami, much of its coastline was spared widespread devastation because it was shielded by the Indonesia island of Sumatra.

"A lot of people have been cancelling their bookings here," said Jennie. "Local people are criticising CNN because they are constantly showing the disaster areas and not those inland, which are unaffected. Things have gone back to normal but the mood is subdued."

Jennie said she had attempted to travel to Banda Aceh, in Indonesia, to help relief efforts, but had been advised that it was too dangerous.

Instead, she and Adam have gone to their hotel as planned but will cut short their break and fly back on Wednesday rather than January 28.

Updated: 11:18 Monday, January 10, 2005