Pass a rainy day looking at gold, recommends newspaper

For people at a loss of what to do on a rainy afternoon in the Philippines may want to follow the advice of Ambeth Ocampo from the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

The journalist suggests tourists and locals alike pop along to a choice of two gold exhibitions contained within museums in the country.

Metropolitan Museum is host to an ongoing presentation of work from the Cebuano-born painter Romulo Galicano and has gold in its basement.

Alternately, people may want to visit the Ayala Museum which "has a more stunning gold exhibition" along with paintings from artists Fernando Amorsolo, Damian Domingo and Fernando Zobel.

The Gold of Ancestors exhibition in the museum showcases over one thousand gold objects in its collection of pre-16th century cultural artefacts.

Including among the items are golden sashes, diadems, funerary masks and anklets.

According to Newsweek, the collection suggests that the pre-colonisation Filipinos were much closer to their Asian neighbours than previously expected.

For example, there is a gold vessel which depicts a half bird, half woman creature - known as the kimnari from Hindu mythology.